Summary ¹⁰

Lemna minor, the common duckweed or lesser duckweed, is an aquatic freshwater plant of the genus Lemna. They belong to the family of Lemnaceae, which is monophyletic to the Araceae family. L. minor is used as animal fodder, bioremediator, for wastewater nutrient recovery and other applications.

Common duckweed is an oval or rounded plant that floats on the water surface. Growth of duckweeds can be so prolific that a blanket of plants 1 to 2 inches thick can completely cover the water surface. This can cause water near the bottom to become anaerobic and this unsuitable for fish and other organisms requiring oxygen. The duckweeds require nutrient-enriched water since they take nutrients from their single hanging root and not directly from the soil. These plants overwinter by sinking to the bottom in the fall. The plants rise in the spring with increasing water temperatures and light. With good growing conditions, they start to "bud" and can produce millions of new plants on the water surface in a very short time.

Growth Form ¹¹

Free floating plant.

Habitat ¹¹

Sewage treatment lagoons, highly fertile ponds, ponds with excessive leaf litter, and stagnant portions of lakes. Found throughout Indiana in quiet water such as ponds or backwaters. The plants are often stuck together in small clusters with a single root hanging below the leaf.

Leaves ¹¹

1/4 inch circles

Reproductive Mode ¹¹

Minute flowers, fruits, and seeds.

Control Considerations ¹¹

Native species, can be confused with giant duckweed (Spirodela) which has many roots per plant and a red lower surface on the leaves.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Attila Oláh, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Attila Oláh
2. (c) Bas Kers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/21933510@N07/3643525349
3. (c) Andreas Rockstein, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/74738817@N07/28389537603/
4. (c) mrpete, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by mrpete
5. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://eol.org/media/14038666
6. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://eol.org/media/14038667
7. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/14038668
8. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/14038669
9. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://eol.org/media/14805957
10. Adapted by Max Leveridge from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemna_minor
11. (c) Max Leveridge, all rights reserved

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• African Plants - a photo guide
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
• eFloras.org
• Flora Digital de Portugal
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
• 植物和名−学名インデックス YList

iNat Map