Wolffia is a genus of aquatic plants with a cosmopolitan distribution.
Description
Wolffia are free-floating aquatic plants with
that are nearly spherical to cylindrical in shape and lack airspaces or veins.
They do not have roots.
Their rarely seen flowers originate from a cavity on the upper surface of the frond, and each flower has one stamen and one pistil.
Although Wolffia can reproduce by seed, they usually use vegetative reproduction.
Physiology
The growth rate of
Wolffia varies within and among species. The rates of
photosynthesis and respiration also vary proportionately to growth rate. The fastest growth rate (in fact, the fastest growth rate of any
flowering plant) is shown by a clone of
Wolffia microscopica, with a
doubling time of 29.3 hours.
As food
Wolffia are a potential high-protein livestock food source. One species,
W. microscopica, is over 20%
protein by dry weight and has high content of essential amino acids. They have historically been collected from the water and eaten as a vegetable in Asia.
Species
, eleven species are accepted on
Kew's Plants of the World Online:
External links
-
The Duckweed Genome Project from Rutgers University
-
Landolt, E. (1986) Biosystematic investigations in the family of duckweeds (Lemnaceae). Vol. 2. The family of Lemnaceae - A monographic study. Part 1 of the monograph: Morphology; karyology; ecology; geographic distribution; systematic position; nomenclature; descriptions. Veröff. Geobot. Inst., Stiftung Rübel, ETH, Zurich.
