| Author | Welwitsch | |
| Distribution | This species is considered by Weakley (2022) as present in the Coastal Plain in NC, but not in the Piedmont or Mountains. The map below seems to nearly corroborate Weakley's map, though the large gaps in the county distribution suggest that the species probably occurs over most of the counties in the Coastal Plain. His map does show that it occurs in the SC Piedmont and in eastern TN; in fact, the Wake County site is technically in the Piedmont but has Coastal Plain affinities.
This is a wide-ranging species globally; in N.A. from MD, WI, and CA, south to southern FL and southern TX. | |
| Abundance | Weakley (2022) indicates that the species is "uncommon" in the NC Coastal Plain. It should be considered very rare in the extreme eastern Piedmont. The NCNHP has begun to track this species, as Significantly Rare, but it gives a State Rank of SH (Historical), as likely there are no specimens collected within the last 20-40 years. However, given the fact that few people collect duckweeds in recent years, and a range documented from at least 10 counties, the website editors suggest a State Rank of S2S3, and perhaps just Watch List at best. | |
| Habitat | Weakley (2022) says it occurs in "Still to slowly moving waters of ponds, lakes, beaver ponds, and swamps." |
| Phenology | Probably blooms and fruits from September to November. | |
| Identification | Lemna species are tiny floating plants with flattened leaf-like stems (fronds) that produce roots under the stem (i.e., under the water surface). These species have just one root per frond. This species has 3-5 nerves on a frond. For further separation characters, see the key in Weakley (2018). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | This species has often been included within L. perpusilla in older references.
The range maps for this and other duckweeds (Lemna spp.) are likely to be very incomplete, owing to recent changes in nomenclature; not to mention being in a group of plants often overlooked or not often collected by biologists because of their tiny size and aquatic/floating habits. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Common Duckweed | |
| State Rank | SH [S2S3] | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | SR-P [W7] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | OBL link |
| USACE-emp | OBL link |
