Salvinia natans(L.) All.

Floating Fernfloating fernfloating watermoss

WFO wfo-0001117304 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Salvinia natans, photographed by Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky)
fig. a Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky), CC BY 4.0 / 2021-11-06 / obs. 167560686
Salvinia natans, photographed by Дима Орлов
fig. b Дима Орлов, CC0 1.0 / obs. 166599783
Salvinia natans, photographed by Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky)
fig. c Юрий Данилевский (Yuriy Danilevsky), CC BY 4.0 / obs. 166596754
Salvinia natans, photographed by Andrew Bazdyrev
fig. d Andrew Bazdyrev, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177328748
Salvinia natans, photographed by Евгений Рыбальченко
fig. e Евгений Рыбальченко, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 161383088
Salvinia natans, photographed by Olena V. Vakarenko
fig. f Olena V. Vakarenko, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 171341762
Salvinia natans, photographed by Olena V. Vakarenko
fig. g Olena V. Vakarenko, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 171332874
Salvinia natans, photographed by Olena V. Vakarenko
fig. h Olena V. Vakarenko, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 171339978

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 60 botanical countries

Regions where Salvinia natans is native: Algeria, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Korea, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, North Caucasus, Palestine, Primorye, Qinghai, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Nepal, Pakistan, South China Sea, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Baltic States, Belarus, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Krym, Netherlands, Northwest European Russia, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine AlgeriaTunisiaAfghanistanAltayAmurChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanInner MongoliaIranIraqJapanKazakhstanKhabarovskLebanon-SyriaManchuriaNorth CaucasusPalestinePrimoryeQinghaiTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaNepalPakistanThailandVietnamWest HimalayaBaltic StatesBelarusBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyKrymNetherlandsNorthwest European RussiaNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraine KoreaNansei-shotoSouth China Sea
Native distribution of Salvinia natans, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Nansei-shoto NNS
North Caucasus NCS
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Baltic States BLT EUROPE
Belarus BLR
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
Germany GER
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
Northwest European Russia RUW
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
South China Sea SCS
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Tunisia TUN

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 8 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Marsilea natans L.
  • Marsilea patens J.F.Gmel.
  • Marsilea salvinioides Neck.
  • Salvinia europaea Desv.
  • Salvinia sprengelii Corda
  • Salvinia verticillata Roxb.
  • Salvinia vulgaris Rupr.
  • Trichomanes villosulum Wall.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.