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From Egypt to Syria, ‘water cancer’ chokes waterways

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AL-LANI, Syria and KAFR-EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — On the banks of Syria’s Orontes River, a beautiful flower has become a nightmare. Each spring, it creeps out of the soft mud that sheltered its seeds in winter, quickly overtaking the banks. In a matter of days, the plants sprawl across the shallowest parts of the river. Their intertwined stems form tightly woven mats of waxy green leaves topped by mauve flowers that float on the river’s surface, so fishermen can’t reach the water to cast their nets. “It grows incredibly fast, spreading by more than a meter [3 feet] every day,” says Abbas Abbas, a fisherman from the village of Al-Lani in northern Syria, standing on the edge of what was once a flowing river. “The plant starts growing from the banks and within three days, it spreads 5 meters [16 ft] into the river, completely covering its surface until July or August.” Locals call the plant ward el-Nil, meaning “Nile rose” or “Nile flower” in Arabic, or by its local nickname: “water cancer” — a plague nearly impossible to eradicate. In English, Pontederia crassipes is known as the water hyacinth. It is considered one of the worst invasive aquatic plants in the world, able to double in size in as little as six days under the right conditions. Lost livelihoods On the outskirts of Al-Lani, Mohammed Bahjat Bakro gestures toward lifeless trunks in his orchard, which once produced cherries, peaches, pomegranates and walnuts. “I used to have about 150 trees, of…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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