Lesser duckweed is a tiny free-floating aquatic plant in the Araceae family, forming small green fronds on the surface of still water. It is grown in water gardens and used in ponds, and it spreads quickly, so keep it in check.
Family
Araceae (Arum family)
Grows as
Aquatic
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Grows floating on still or slow-moving water; no watering needed beyond keeping the water in place.
Soil
Does not root in soil; it floats on water with its roots hanging in the water column.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect from freezing, which kills the fronds
How easy
Easy
Native range
Tropics & Subtropics
Climate
wet tropical
About
Lemna aequinoctialis, the lesser duckweed, is a tiny, floating aquatic plant in the aroid family, found in quiet, still waters of the Southern U.S., as well as Mexico and some Caribbean Islands. Additionally, it can be found from the state of Virginia south through Florida, north to Nebraska and even into southern Wisconsin. It is also widespread in the American Southwest (and most of Mexico, including desert), from Texas to the coast of California, preferring lagoons and still ponds, which it accesses via seasonal flooding and occasional precipitation. Fronds are generally triple-nerved, green, and measure up-to 6 mm long. Flowers are single-ovulate, with a small utricular scale open on one side. Seeds have 8–26 ribs.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lemna aequinoctialis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.