Spotless Watermeal (Wolffia arrhiza)
Description
Wolffia arrhiza is a species of flowering plant known by the common names spotless watermeal and rootless duckweed, belonging to the Araceae, a family rich in water-loving species, such as Arum and Pistia. It is the smallest vascular plant on Earth. It is native to Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia, and it is present in other parts of the world as a naturalized species. It is an aquatic plant which grows in quiet water bodies such as ponds. The green part of the plant, the frond, is a sphere measuring about 1 mm wide, but with a flat top that floats at the water's surface. It has a few parallel rows of stomata.There is no root. The plant produces a minute flower fully equipped with one stamen and one pistil. It often multiplies by vegetative reproduction, however, with the rounded part budding off into a new individual. In cooler conditions the plant becomes dormant and sinks to the bed of the water body to overwinter as a turion. The plant is a mixotroph which can produce its own energy by photosynthesis or absorb it from the environment in the form of dissolved carbon.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Alismatales
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Family: Araceae
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Genus: Wolffia
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