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Evaluation · Q2

Q.With respect to Eichhornia
Statement A: It drains off oxygen from water and is seen growing in standing water.
Statement B: It is an indigenous species of our country.

(a) Statement A is correct and Statement B is wrong.
(b) Both Statements A and B are correct.
(c) Statement A is correct and Statement B is wrong.
(d) Both statements A and B are wrong.
Tamil Nadu DgeTextbookSubjectiveImportance★★★★★
4% · 2/54 Questions
✓ Free question

Step 1. Evaluate Statement A. Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) is a free-floating aquatic weed that forms dense, rapidly spreading mats on ponds, lakes, tanks, canals and other standing/still water bodies. Its thick surface cover blocks sunlight penetration and atmospheric gas exchange, and the decay of its large dead biomass consumes dissolved oxygen in the water — so it genuinely does 'drain off oxygen from water' and is characteristically 'seen growing in standing water.' Statement A is scientifically CORRECT.

Step 2. Evaluate Statement B. Water hyacinth is native to the Amazon basin of tropical South America. It was introduced into India (including Tamil Nadu) as an ornamental pond plant in the late 19th/early 20th century and has since become one of the country's most notorious invasive alien aquatic weeds, choking lakes, tanks, and irrigation channels and displacing native aquatic flora and fauna. It is therefore NOT an indigenous species of our country — Statement B is WRONG.

Step 3. Select the matching option. Since Statement A is correct and Statement B is wrong, the correct choice is the option that states exactly this combination. (Note: in the printed textbook, options (a) and (c) are worded identically — 'Statement A is correct and Statement B is wrong' — which is a genuine printing duplication in the source; both option letters represent the same correct combination of statements.)

✓Final answer

(a) Statement A is correct and Statement B is wrong — Eichhornia (water hyacinth) does deplete dissolved oxygen in standing water bodies, but it is an invasive alien species native to South America, not indigenous to India.

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