Duckweeds

Scientific Name: Lemna minor

Duckweeds look like hundreds to thousands of tiny (less than 5 mm!) green leaves floating on the water. They are sometimes called water lentils or water lenses due to their rounded shape and small size. Duckweeds are, as the name suggests, great feed for waterfowl, but some fish like to eat it too. They can appear rapidly in calm bodies of water and grow into dense and widespread communities. 

Did you know that Duckweed has been used by scientists to reduce nutrient enrichment of phosphorus and nitrogen in water bodies strongly affected by agricultural runoff?

Photo by Dan Brunton