Wolffia borealis

Northern water meal

Family: Araceae · Type: perennial · Native

Northern water meal is a native perennial found in northern coastal California, high Cascade Range, and southern California coastal regions in freshwater habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering during summer to early fall, this tiny plant produces subtle green flowers less than 1.2 millimeters long. Growing as an extraordinarily small floating aquatic plant, it forms delicate green colonies on water surfaces. Its body is dark green and transparent underneath, with a slightly concave upper surface and an acute, upturned tip. This diminutive plant contains between 50 to 100 stomates, making it a remarkable example of miniature botanical complexity.

Habitat: Uncommon. Freshwater

Bloom period: Summer-early fall

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NCoR, CaRH, SCo

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