Wolffia
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- WOLF-ee-ah
- Description
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Water meal is an aquatic plant in the Araceae family. It is the smallest flowering plant in the world flourishing in temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical locations. Each plant is typically 1/42" long and 1/85" wide. This aquatic plant, resembling cornmeal, is found floating on the surface of still to slowly moving waters of ponds, lakes, beaver ponds, ditches, and swamps.
Each greenish-yellow tiny plant is rootless, branchless and also has no leaves. It is an oval body of undifferentiated vegetative tissue (thallus) that produces a pistil and a single stamen originating from a floral cavity in the side. It typically reproduces vegetatively, not flowering often. The flower is produced in a depression on top of the plant.
Under the right conditions, such as warm water and bright light, each plant can double is size every two days. It can quickly cover the water surface.
It has also been noted it can take up excess nutrients from the water where it is located, thereby cleaning the waterway.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: It can become quite aggressive.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Wolffia
- Species:
- Lemnaceae
- Family:
- Araceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Asia
- Wildlife Value:
- Eaten by herbivorous fish and a variety of waterfowl.
- Play Value:
- Easy to Grow
- Textural
- Wildlife Food Source
- Edibility:
- The plant can be eaten as a vegetable. A high-protein food source, it contains approximately 40% protein. In its native region, it is often eaten as a vegetable, having a taste similar to sweet cabbage.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Water Plant
- Habit/Form:
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Drainage:
- Frequent Standing Water
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
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Fruit:
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Its fruit is a utricle, a small, bladder like, thin walled fruit. Due to their tiny size, the fruits are not visible.
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Flowers:
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Spadix
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Wolffia lays flat on the water surface resembling a green floating carpet. The plant has a non-showy flower that does not bloom often.
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Leaves:
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- There are no leaves.
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Bark:
- Bark Description:
- There is no bark.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- There are no stems.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Pond
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Water Garden
- Attracts:
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Heat
- Humidity
- Problems:
- Weedy
