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In the waterways of hotter countries, water hyacinths are a menace, throwing out long spreading runners and soon covering the whole surface. In cooler gardens though, they are an attractive seasonal pond feature, kept within bound by autumn frosts. The floating leaf stems are inflated like small balloons, which helps to hold the thick rounded leaves just above the water - below the surface are other, different shaped leaves and clusters of dangling roots. The flowers resemble orchids, pale lavender blue with darker yellow-eyed markings.