NEW ORLEANS -- Despite the winter freeze, the invasive water hyacinth bounced back on south Louisiana bayous and waterways with a vengeance this year.
While volunteers have been manually removing the plants from some area canals, they remain a huge problem in the New Orleans area.
The plants resemble a carpet of green, floating on top of lagoons in New Orleans City Park.
Friday, Alfred Taylor noticed them on his walk through park.
"We were walking across the bridge, looking at this green stuff and we were wondering if it was good or is it bad," Taylor said.
Water hyacinth is a pretty plant, particularly in the spring when they sprout brilliant lavender flowers.
LSU AgCenter Horticulturist Chris Dunaway warns don't be fooled by the beauty.
"It will double and quadruple and so on in size every few weeks and quickly choke out a water system," Dunaway said.
The floating mats of water hyacinth can grow up to six feet thick.
"No light will penetrate, so it blocks out native plants," Dunaway said. "It will actually deplete the oxygen in a pond. It will lead to fish kills."
The plants can hurt drainage since many of the south Louisiana waterways are used for flood control.
They also pose a hazard to navigation if allowed to grow out of control.
"It could wrap around the prop of an engine and possibly cause you some troubles," Dunaway said. "Not to mention, it can hook on to a boat and carry it with you to new places and invade new areas."
So how do you control the growth of water hyacinth?
There are several herbicides now being used and in City Park, every so often volunteers jump in the water and remove the plants by hand.
"I love green," the park visitor Alfred Taylor said. "I love to see growth. That's growth. But, in another sense it's bad because it's taking away the water."
Here are some interesting facts about water hyacinth:
They are native to the Amazon in South America.
The plant was brought Louisiana to decorate the 1884 Cotton States Exposition in New Orleans.
There was one plan to introduce the hippopotamus into south Louisiana waterways to eat the water hyacinth. That plan never panned out.