Lemna minor

Smaller duckweed

Family: Araceae · Type: perennial · Native

Smaller duckweed is a native perennial found in coastal and inland regions of California, including the North Coast, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, southern California, Mojave Desert, and Great Valley in freshwater habitats at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering in August, this tiny aquatic plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers. Growing in clusters of 2 to 3 individual plants, it forms glossy green elliptic-obovate fronds 2 to 5 millimeters long with smooth upper surfaces. Its symmetrical leaf-like structures have flat lower surfaces with subtle air spaces, creating a delicate floating mat on water surfaces. The plant's compact, uniform appearance allows it to thrive in various freshwater environments, from slow-moving streams to pond edges.

Habitat: Common. Freshwater

Bloom period: Aug

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, n SNF, GV, CCo, SnFrB, SCo, PR, MP, D

California counties: Riverside, Lake, San Bernardino, Ventura, Mono, Plumas, Los Angeles, Napa, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Tehama, Inyo, Merced, Mendocino, Fresno, Marin, Sonoma, Sierra, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Humboldt, Monterey, Nevada, Mariposa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Butte, Siskiyou, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Placer, Yolo, Alpine

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.