Daan Water Sedge Ecological Education Park Introduction
Da'an Water Hyacinth is a national treasure-level endangered plant, blooming from October to February, and is endemic to Taiwan. In 2000, a coastal ecological education park was completed in the local area. In addition to planting Da'an Water Hyacinth, the park also features various coastal plants including Bitter Broom, Taiwan Sea Olive, Narrow-leaved Virgin's Bower, Water Yellow Skin, Yellow-leaved Banyan, Thousand-layer, Weeping Banyan, Yellow Kadsura, Olive, Lin Tou, Qiongyai Begonia, Indian Pea, Three-leaved Ginger, and Taiwan Tamarisk among dozens of species. The Da'an Water Hyacinth Ecological Education Park is located in a pond on the southern bank of the Wanliao River in Da'an District, primarily aimed at the restoration of this endangered plant. The Da'an Water Hyacinth here is a perennial aquatic herb with upright stems in a quadrangular prism shape, covered with dense hairs at the nodes. The leaves are arranged oppositely, paper-like, and linear-lanceolate, while the flowers are purple and tubular in shape. Its fruits are oval-cylindrical, making it a rare species endemic to Taiwan. The "Water Hyacinth" is distributed only in the coastal wetlands of Da'an District, Qingshui District, and Longjing District in Taichung City. Due to habitat destruction, the population is extremely scarce, necessitating effective protection and restoration efforts.
