Water lettuce isn't a fancy green for salads; it is manatee food, capable of smothering a river and the focus of growing controversy.
Water lettuce is regarded officially as a destructive exotic from another country and appropriate for blasting on sight with chemical weaponry. Some think, however, the plant is a native Floridian that has a valued role in the environment.
"I'm not sure where we need to go to get it off the hit list," Lake County environmental activist Linda Bystrak said.
The place of water lettuce has been debated quietly for years. Nobody disputes its ability to grow like a weed and to clog a waterway. It thrives in waters — this is a Florida specialty — polluted by nutrients from sewage and fertilizers.
Last year, state and federal agents sprayed 46,000 acres of water lettuce and other commingling weeds in Florida at a cost of $5.8 million.
The stuff is still almost everywhere in the state, and anybody who has boated has probably seen it.
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Only cute ones, please.