Duckweed
subfamily of plants / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duckweed, water lens, or bayroot, are freshwater aquatic plants. They float in still or slow-moving fresh water and wetlands. There are five genera, with a total of 33 to 38 species.[1][2]
Duckweed | |
---|---|
Close-up of two different duckweeds : Spirodela polyrrhiza (larger) and Wolffia globosa, which are less than 2 mm long. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Araceae |
Subfamily: | Lemnoideae |
These plants are very simple: They lack an obvious stem or leaves. Most of each plant is a small organized "thallus" or "frond" structure only a few cells thick. Often it has air pockets and floats on or under the water surface. Some have no root and some have one or more simple rootlets.[3]
Reproduction is usually by asexual budding. Occasionally, three tiny flowers are produced for sexual reproduction. These flowers have two stamens and a pistil. From this occasional reproduction is produced a seed in an air bag that floats. The flower of the duckweed genus Wolffia is the smallest known, just 0.3 mm long.[4]