A word of caution to all plant lovers:

Remember that many of the plants that we grow in our tanks are not native to Singapore, and as with alien fish species (e.g. tilapia, luohan, guppies, mollies, pacus, tetras...), allowing them to spread in local waters (reservoirs and streams) can result in unpredictable growth and disrupt native ecosystems.

It seems that Mayaca fluviatilis has become established in and around MacRitchie. There are green lawns of the plant along the shoreline and I saw recently that the plant has completely overwhelmed some of the side streams (see pic below) that feed the main reservoir. The streams once had native plants (e.g. blyxa and hairgrass) and schools of small fish (rasboras, barbs), but the water is now choked full of the Mayaca with little open water.

I understand park workers try to clear the weeds, but it's not possible to totally eradicate a species once it's established locally. Some may remember that in the 60-70s the reservoirs had a big problem with Salvinia, which threatened to cover all the surface (depleting the water of light and oxygen). Please remember: your aquarium plant DOESN'T belong to the wild. If it's growing too well, give it to friends or your favourite shop. And if you have friends or see people who think releasing plants/animals into the wild is an act of kindness, help them to understand why such acts are destructive to local nature and biodiversity.....

http://budak.blogs.com/.shared/image...ntgrowth_1.jpg