Taiwan brandy bottle used to be distributed widely throughout the wetlands of northern and central Taiwan, especially in the ponds of Taoyuan, but habitat destruction and pollution began reducing their numbers decades ago. As early as the 1970s, Flora of Taiwan described the Taiwan brandy bottle as an endangered species, yet it has not been listed as a protected species under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act.
台灣萍蓬草也曾經廣泛分佈在寶島中、北部濕地，桃園陂塘更是萍蓬草的大本營，隨著生育地消失與工業廢水污染，早在一九七零年代的《台灣植物誌》中就指出，台灣萍蓬草已瀕臨滅絕。