Irish wildflowers BSBI map

Least Duckweed, Lemna minuta
Photographs: Co. Wexford

Least Duckweed
Lemna minuta
Family: Lemnaceae

Flowering May - July. Perennial floating aquatic. Introduced.

Slightly translucent, +/- symmetrical plants, 0.8-4mm long with a single vein (which can be difficult to see). Rarely flowers and when it does the flowers are minute, solitary and easily overlooked.

Introduced from America, first recorded in Britain and Ireland in 1977 and now steadily increasing in still or slow-moving ponds, ditches and rivers

Similar: Common Duckweed, Lemna minor is larger, with 3-5 veins

Least Duckweed, Lemna minuta
Least Duckweed, Lemna minuta

Please Contact me if you find mistakes. All images are copyright.