Duckweed is a tiny plant, the size of a pinhead, that grows prolifically this time of year. It coats the water surface and anything it touches. It adheres to skin, hair, boats and can be a bit of a nuisance.
Also known as Lemna Valdiviana or small duckweed. It is a beneficial native plant, which absorbs nitrates and phosphates from water and becomes a great food source for herbivores.
To learn more about the ability of Lemna to absorb nutrients from our waters, check out this article on Duckweeds for Phytoremediation of Polluted Water by Zhou Y, Stepanenko A, Kishchenko O, Xu J, Borisjuk N. The authors explore the ancient origins of this plant going back 100 million year. Its rapid growth potentially doubling in 24 hrs, and has demonstrated an ability to “removed more than 93% of total N and total P in local municipal wastewater” in a two week period.
Lemna as a food-source is explored in this article called Duckweeds: their utilization, metabolites and cultivation also by Zhou Y, Stepanenko A, Kishchenko O, Xu J, Borisjuk N. Here the authors explore the use of duckweed as a fast growing food-source, containing a high protein content. It is also considered a source of ‘food/feed resources and pharmaceuticals.’
Next time you see duckweed coating still pools of waters , you can rest assured that it is improving our water quality and feeding turtles and other herbivores. A plant that is a friend and not a foe.
OSFR President Joanne Tremblay
joanne.tremblay@oursantaferiver.org
“Giving Our River A Voice”
