Lemna trisulca

Ivy leaved duckweed

Family: Araceae · Type: perennial · Native

Ivy leaved duckweed is a native aquatic perennial found in northern California, the Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Bernardino Mountains, Great Basin, Modoc Plateau, and Mojave Desert in mountain streams and meadows at elevations below 3,000 meters. Flowering in August, this delicate aquatic plant produces minimal flowers typical of its duckweed family. Growing in transparent green, lanceolate to oblong segments 6 to 10 millimeters long, it often forms branched chains of 8 to 30 interconnected plants. Its plant body is distinctive for its tapered stalk and symmetric base and tip, creating a unique floating structure. With essentially no roots, this duckweed moves gracefully across water surfaces in mountain habitats.

Habitat: Meadows, mountain streams

Bloom period: Aug

Elevation: < 3000 m

Bioregions: CaR, SN, ScV, SnBr, GB, MP, DMoj

California counties: Orange, San Bernardino, Plumas, Tulare, Mono, Colusa, Inyo, Butte, Modoc, Lassen, Madera, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Alpine, Nevada, Placer, Humboldt, Trinity, Tehama, Napa, Lake, Merced

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