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LEMNACEAE

DUCKWEED FAMILY

Wayne P. Armstrong

Perennial, floating aquatics, small, clonal, in dense populations; new plants produced in budding pouch at base or along margins; may overwinter on bottom as dense, rootless, starch-filled daughter plant (winter bud); roots 0–many
Plant body 0.4–10 mm, flat and tongue-shaped to spheric
Flower 1, rarely seen, minute, appearing like 2–3 unisexual flowers, often sheathed by minute membrane; perianth 0; stamens 1–2; pistil 1, simple, maturing before stamens
Fruit achene-like, sometimes winged
Seeds 1–3, smooth or ribbed. Spp. best separated by chemistry and fruit; clones vary; magnification, backlighting generally needed to identify vegetative plants
Genera in family: 4 genera, 34 species: worldwide; ornamental in pools, aquaria
Reference: [Landolt 1986 Veröff Geobot Inst ETH Stiftung Rübel Zürich 71]
Horticultural information: TRY.

WOLFFIA

WATER-MEAL

Plants generally in unequal pairs; roots 0
Plant body 0.4–1.3 mm, nearly spheric to ± cylindric, floating on or partially below water surface; veins 0; budding pouch funnel-shaped; winter buds often produced
Flower produced in cavity on upper surface; sheathing membrane 0; stamen 1; pistil 1
Seed smooth
Species in genus: 9 species: worldwide, especially temp, tropical
Etymology: (J.F. Wolff, German botanist and physician, 1778–1806)
Reference: [Armstrong & Thorne 1984 Madroño 31:172–179]
CA species may be distinguished by size and shape with > 10X magnification.

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