- Duckweeds are small, free-floating plants found in standing water.duckweed image by Oleg Tarasov from Fotolia.com
Duckweeds are small, free-floating herbs that grow in quiet, still or stagnant waters. They are often found in ponds, ditches, swamps and backwaters during warmer weather. Because they reproduce by budding, they tend to multiply rapidly and can cover an entire surface of water in a very short amount of time. - Giant duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) is only 1/16 to 1/4 inch long in size, but it is considered to be the largest of the duckweeds. It has one to four leaves, light green in color, with three to nine roots protruding from each. The underside of the leaves are dark red. Giant duckweed is often an aggressive invader of ponds. It is sometimes referred to as “Big Duckweed.”
- Common duckweed (Lemna minor) is the most common species of duckweed. It tolerates a wide range of water chemistry, and is often found in cold springs, as well as the usual duckweed habitats. Light green in color, common duckweed has one to three leaves that are 1/16 to 1/8 inch long. A single root protrudes from each leaf.
- Rootless duckweed (Wolffia), sometimes known as “watermeal,” is the smallest known flowering plant in the world, bearing blooms that are less than 1 millimeter in diameter. Rootless duckweed grows in dense colonies in still water, with one million to two million of the tiny plants occupying a square yard of water surface. It has one to two boat-shaped, intensely green leaves, with flowers that are pale and near white in color.
- Dotted duckweed (Landoltia punctata) grows in dense masses in stagnant water. This duckweed has two leaves, which are narrowly egg-shaped, with two to five roots protruding from each. The leaves are 1/32 to 1/8 inch long, vivid green in color, and covered by a layer of cuticle that causes them to sparkle in sunlight. There are no dots on dotted duckweed; the term refers to the barely visible ridges on the leaf's surface.
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