Azolla mexicana

Azolla mexicana, the Mexican mosquito fern,^[3] is an aquatic fern native to Mexico, British Columbia and the western United States (California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Nevada).^[4]

Azolla mexicana
Drawing circa 1905[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Division:	Polypodiophyta
Class:	Polypodiopsida
Order:	Salviniales
Family:	Salviniaceae
Genus:	Azolla
Species:	A. mexicana
Binomial name
Azolla mexicana Schltdl. & Cham. ex Kunze May 1845
Synonyms[2]
Azolla mexicana Schltdl. & Cham. 1830, name without description Azolla mexicana C. Presl, December 1845

There are reports of the species also occurring in the Great Plains of the central United States, but these reports need further study for verification.^[4]

Description

Azolla mexicana is a floating aquatic with blue-green to dark red leaves. It is distinguished from the two other species of the genus present in North America, Azolla caroliniana and Azolla filiculoides, by having multicellular hairs on the leaves and pits on the megaspores.^[5][6][7]