Salvinia molesta, also known as giant salvinia or kiambang kecil in Malay is a species of aquatic fern floating on the water surface. In 1972, it was renamed as S. molesta from its original identification as a form of S. auriculata based on its fruiting bodies (Mitchell, 1972). This fern undergoes three growth stages (Julien et al., 2009) and does not produce flowers (Rice, 1998). It can grow up to 20 cm long. The two types leaves (fronds), buoyant and submerged  are arranged along the stem, from light-green to medium green colour, with brownish edges when mature, and also with a distinctive fold in the center. The buoyancy of the plant in water is due to its cage-like structure of the end hairs (Sota, 1962; Mitchell et al., 1972; Forno, 1983).

Salvinia molesta is commonly found in stagnant or slow-moving waters such as lakes, slow-flowing rivers or streams, wetlands, rice paddies, irrigation channels, ditches, ponds and canals (EPPO, 2016). It has a very high rate of reproduction and can reduce access to the water for recreation. This species can be found in tropical, sub-tropical or warm temperate areas of the world and become an extremely invasive species in many regions.