Common Duckweed

Lemna minor

Common Duckweed is a tiny plant that floats on water. It looks like little green dots and is often found in ponds and lakes, making it a fun plant to spot while exploring nature!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Common Duckweed is a tiny, bright green, oval-shaped plant that floats on water surfaces. It has one small root hair hanging underneath each frond, distinguishing it from slightly larger, similar-looking water plants.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassLiliopsidaOrderAlismatalesFamilyAraceaeGenusLemna

Common Duckweed

Interesting facts

Each tiny duckweed plant has only one root, which is usually no bigger than a single hair!

It can double its population in just a few days, making it super fast-growing.

Scientists are studying duckweed as a potential future food source for humans and animals.

The Common Duckweed is one of the smallest flowering plants on Earth!

Special abilities

Common Duckweed can quickly multiply by budding, allowing it to cover water surfaces very fast.

This plant can absorb excess nutrients and pollutants from water, helping to clean its environment.

Common Duckweed forms special dense buds called turions that sink to the bottom to survive winter's cold.

Measurements & details

Height: 0.1-0.2 cm
Spread: 0.2-0.5 cm
Edible: Yes
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial

Ecological connections

eaten by

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Mallards and other ducks readily feed on floating duckweed.

eaten by

Common Carp

Cyprinus carpio

Carp graze on duckweed, especially in still, nutrient-rich waters.

eaten by

Great Pond Snail

Lymnaea stagnalis

Snails commonly feed on duckweed as a primary food source.

Traits

Nitrogen Fixing

Describes organisms capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into compounds usable by plants.

Ornamental

Ornamental plants are cultivated primarily for their aesthetic appeal, enhancing landscapes and gardens with their attractive foliage, flowers, or form.

Edible

Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.

Rapid Growing

Rapid growing plants exhibit accelerated growth rates, quickly increasing in size and biomass within a short period.

Decomposer

Describes organisms that break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.