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Wolffia arrhiza

Common name:	Least Duckweed	Family:	Lemnaceae
Author:	(L.)Horkel. ex Wimm.	Botanical references:	200, 204
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe to Asia. N. America - Minnesota to Ontario and S.W. Quebec.
Habitat:	Floating on quiet waters[204].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Spotless Watermeal [B,P], Wortelloos Kroos [D],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Arales. Duckweed family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.01m by 0.01m . It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower all year, and the seeds ripen all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - cooked. An excellent flavour, they taste somewhat like a sweet cabbage[183]. The leaves are very nutritious, containing about 20% protein, 44% carbohydrate. 5% fat and are rich in vitamins A, B2, B6, C and nicotinic acid[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A pond plant, floating on the surface of the water, it requires a sunny position in still water that is rich in nitrates and lime[200].
At the limit of its climatic range in Britain and probably best grown in a cold water aquarium[200]. It over-winters in temperate areas by means of resting buds which sink to the bottom of the pond in the late autumn and rise again in the spring[200].
One of the smallest flowering plants in the world, it is cultivated as a vegetable in Burma, Laos and Thailand[183]. It has been recommended for commercial cultivation, especially in tropical areas, because of its rapid multiplication and high nutritional value[183]. Plant densities of over two million plants per square metre have been found[274].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but, since it can spread rapidly by division, it really needs no extra help once it is in a pond.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Lemnaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[204] Livingstone. B. Flora of Canada National Museums of Canada 1978 ISBN 0-660-00025-3
In 4 volumes, it does not deal with plant uses but gives descriptions and habitats.

Readers Comments

Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Wolffia+arrhiza
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Wolffia+arrhiza

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.