Ivy-leaved Duckweed
Lemna trisulca
Unlike most other duckweeds that float flat on the water's surface, this species remains submerged just beneath the surface, forming interconnected, star-shaped chains.
- Scientific name
- Lemna trisulca
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Alismatales › Araceae › Lemna
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Still or slow-moving, mesotrophic to eutrophic freshwaters like ponds, ditches, marshes, and canals.
- Diet
- Photoautotroph (absorbs dissolved nutrients, carbon dioxide, and sunlight directly from the water)
- Range
- North America, Europe, Asia, North Africa
- Size
- Individual fronds are 5 to 15 mm long, forming large tangled underwater mats.
- Lifespan
- Perennial via clonal propagation; individual fronds live for several weeks, while the colony persists indefinitely.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Wetland drainage, severe chemical pollution, and aggressive algal blooms that block sunlight.
- Safe to approach?
- Ivy-leaved Duckweed is entirely harmless to humans. You can safely observe its unique submerged mats in clean ponds and wetlands. If you handle the plant, wash your hands afterward to avoid waterborne pathogens from the pond water.
Lemna trisulca L. (syn. Staurogeton trisulcus (L.) Schur; star duckweed ; ivy-leaved duckweed ) is a species of aquatic plants in the arum family Araceae. It has a subcosmopolitan distribution. Unlike other duckweeds, it has submerged rather than floating fronds, except when flowering or fruiting.
Photo: Michael D. Pirie, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/08344187-ce44-4509-b6f0-b059f80b6e82.md