28th May 2022 – (Hong Kong) Located in the Fung Lok Wai fish pond in Yuen Long, water hyacinth blooms from May to October every year, and a large sea of purple flowers fills the fish pond. There is also Kai Shan in the distant background. Visitors can also take a walk on the nearby Border Road where you can enjoy the scenery of mangroves, mudflats and wetlands.
Water hyacinths are one of the most common plants seen in water gardens. This floating plant is native to South America and very sensitive to cold weather. Water hyacinths have round, glossy green leaves held on upright, fleshy stalks. Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter (3 feet) in height. The leaves are 10–20 cm (4–8 inches) across on a stem which is floating by means of buoyant bulb-like nodules at its base above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8–15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals.
To reach Fung Lok Wai, visitors need to take the minibus no 74 at the Fook Hong Street minibus station in Yuen Long to the Shing Uk Tsuen terminus and walk for about 10 minutes before reaching.