Lemnaceae is a family of
monocot flowering plants containing the
duckweeds (also known as
water lentils). These plants are very simple, lacking a stem or leaves, but consisting of a small blade-like structure floating on or just under the water surface, with or without simple rootlets. Reproduction is mostly by budding, but occasionally a
flower consisting of two stamens and a pistil (some call it an
inflorescence with three unisexual flowers) is produced. The
fruit is an
utricle, a sac containing air and a seed designed to float. The flower of
Wolffia is the smallest in the world at 0.3 mm long.
Close up of two different duckweeds: Spirodela polyrrhiza
and Wolffia globosa. The very tiny Wolffia plants are under
2 mm long.
The family contains five genera and 38 species and is believed to be descended from a plant similar to
Pistia in the Family
Araceae.
Duckweeds are an important food source for waterfowl and are eaten by humans in parts of Southeast Asia (as khai-nam).
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