Araceae

Lemna L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 970 (1753)
This genus is accepted
The native range of this genus is Cosmopolitan.

Descriptions

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology Leaves
Fronds floating or submerged, separate or connected, flat or swollen
Morphology Roots
Roots solitary or absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Floral poach lateral with spathe enclosing 2 male and 1 female flower
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anther thecae 2-celled
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit ± globose, 1–6-seeded; seeds usually ribbed.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan genus of some 14-17 species.
[FSOM]

Lemnaceae, F. N. Hepper. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1973

Morphology General Habit
Aquatics, submerged or more usually floating in great numbers; individual thalli cohering
Morphology General Thallus
Daughter thallus budding from lateral pocket Thalli oblong to ovate, ± asymmetrical, thin or spongy
Morphology Roots
Root solitary, devoid of hairs,shortly sheathed near point of origin; sheath simple or laterally winged; apex of root sheathed by a conspicuous root-cap, tip acute or obtuse
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowering erratic; floral pocket lateral with spathe enclosing 2 staminate and 1 pistillate flowers
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit (l–6)-seeded
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seed usually ribbed.
[FTEA]

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit
Small water plants, floating on the surface or submerged (in which case they rise to the surface during flowering periods)
Morphology Leaves
Budding pouch opening at margin of frond, rarely slightly dorsal or ventral in position Fronds solitary or in small connected groups of 2–10, symmetric or slightly asymmetric, round, elliptic, oblong, obovate or lanceolate, flat or slightly swollen, often with a median row of papillae on the dorsal side; tissues containing raphides; stomata present only on the dorsal side of floating plants; margin entire or rarely denticulate; nerves 1–3 (rarely 5); root 1 per frond (rarely absent), terminated by a root cap of distinctive shape
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds longitudinally ribbed, rarely smooth.
Distribution
A cosmopolitan genus of about 9 species.
[Cayman]

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

General Description
Fronds with 1 - 5 (7) veins and 1 to several layers of air spaces and raphides; pigment cells lacking; fronds not surrounded by a prophyll; 1 root per frond; pistil with 1 amphitrophous or atropous or 2 - 7 anatropous ovules; seeds 0.4 - 0.9 mm long, with 8-60 longitudinal ribs.
Distribution
Cosmopolitan.
Diagnostic
Free floating aquatic plants reduced to small, leaf-like, poorly differentiated fronds; roots and veins present; lack calcium oxalate druses. Differs from Spirodela in having only 1 root per frond, 1-5 veins (rarely 7 in Lemna gibba ) and the base of the frond lacking a scale.
[CATE]

Common Names

English
Duckweed

Sources

  • CATE Araceae

    • Haigh, A., Clark, B., Reynolds, L., Mayo, S.J., Croat, T.B., Lay, L., Boyce, P.C., Mora, M., Bogner, J., Sellaro, M., Wong, S.Y., Kostelac, C., Grayum, M.H., Keating, R.C., Ruckert, G., Naylor, M.F. and Hay, A., CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of the Cayman Islands

    • Flora of the Cayman Islands
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/