Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Tiny

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

Worldwide

Movement

Drifting

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

Duckweeds are tiny flowering plants that drift on the surface of quiet ponds. They reproduce by cloning themselves so rapidly that a colony can double in size every two days.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Alismatales

Family

Araceae