Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

60. Lemnaceae, the Duckweed Family

1. Lemna L. -- Duckweed

4. Lemna minuscula Herter

Fronds oblong to elliptic or somewhat ovoid, 1-2.5 mm long, symmetric or slightly asymmetric at the base, pale green, obscurely 1-nerved (the nerve often nearly obsolete), thin, with only 1 layer of air spaces, hyaline around the margin, flat to slightly convex on both surfaces, sometimes with a few low papillae on the upper surface. Turions not produced. Root sheath not winged; root tip pointed. Fruit not winged, 1-seeded. Rare, w NE Sandhills; (w U.S. and S.Amer.; intro. in Europe). L. minima Phil., L. minuta H.B.K.

This species is sometimes included in L. valdiviana Phil., a primarily coastal entity that has been recorded no closer to us than e KS. L. valdiviana differs in having longer, more prominently 1-nerved fronds which are strongly asymmetric at the base.

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