Lemna gibba
Encyclopedia
Lemna gibba is a species of Lemna
(duckweed) with distribution in temperate areas in Europe
, including Britain
, to the Himalayas
, Africa
, South America
and North America
.
This duckweed is one of Britain's most common small water plants, which forms familiar green mats covering stagnant water bodies . It has a simple plant body, known as a thallus, which floats on the surface of the water and measures up to five millimetres in diameter. A single root hangs down into the water.
Found in a wide range of still or slow-flowing water bodies, common duckweed can also occur on mud or damp rocks.
Widespread throughout Britain, but is absent from much of Scotland and Shetland. Elsewhere the species has a very wide global distribution, absent only from polar areas and the tropics.
You can view distribution information for this species on the Charms of Duckweed (worldwide) and National Biodiversity Network Gateway (Britain only).
This species spreads mainly through vegetative reproduction, but flowers are occasionally produced in shallow water exposed to the full sun. When covering the entire surface of a pond, it can make the water appear solid, and in parts of the north-west of England children were scared away from such ponds by the myth of Jenny Green-teeth, a pond elf or monster whose presence was indicated by duckweed; she was said to lure children into ponds and drown them.
Lemna
Lemna is a genus of free-floating aquatic plants from the duckweed family. These rapidly-growing plants have found uses as a model system for studies in community ecology, basic plant biology, in ecotoxicology, in production of biopharmaceuticals, and as a source of animal feeds for agriculture...
(duckweed) with distribution in temperate areas in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, to the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
This duckweed is one of Britain's most common small water plants, which forms familiar green mats covering stagnant water bodies . It has a simple plant body, known as a thallus, which floats on the surface of the water and measures up to five millimetres in diameter. A single root hangs down into the water.
Found in a wide range of still or slow-flowing water bodies, common duckweed can also occur on mud or damp rocks.
Widespread throughout Britain, but is absent from much of Scotland and Shetland. Elsewhere the species has a very wide global distribution, absent only from polar areas and the tropics.
You can view distribution information for this species on the Charms of Duckweed (worldwide) and National Biodiversity Network Gateway (Britain only).
This species spreads mainly through vegetative reproduction, but flowers are occasionally produced in shallow water exposed to the full sun. When covering the entire surface of a pond, it can make the water appear solid, and in parts of the north-west of England children were scared away from such ponds by the myth of Jenny Green-teeth, a pond elf or monster whose presence was indicated by duckweed; she was said to lure children into ponds and drown them.