Trapa natans
water chestnut

Non-Native in the U.S.

This plant does not occur in Florida. However it is a noxious invasive in other parts of the U.S. It is present in Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, ? New Jersey, New York and Vermont (Kartesz, 1999). It is native to Eurasia.

Water chestnut features a rosette of floating, fan-shaped leaves, each leaf having a slightly inflated petiole (stem); the roots are fine, long and profuse; the small 4-petalled flower is white; the fruit is a large nut having 4 sharp spines.