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, ecotoxicology, and production of biopharmaceuticals, and as a source of animal feeds for agriculture and aquaculture. Currently, 14 species of Lemna are recognised.

Taxonomy and growth habits

These duckweeds have been classified as a separate family, the Lemnaceae, but some researchers (the AGP II) consider the duckweeds members of the Araceae.

Lemna species grow as simple free-floating thalli on or just beneath the water surface. Most are small, not exceeding 5 mm in length, except Lemna trisulca, which is elongated and has a branched structure. Lemna thalli have a single root, which distinguishes this genus from the related genera Spirodela and Landoltia.

The plants grow mainly by vegetative reproduction: two daughter plants bud off from the adult plant. This form of growth allows very rapid colonisation of new water. Duckweeds are flowering plants, and nearly all of them are known to reproduce sexually, flowering and producing seed under appropriate conditions. Certain duckweeds (such as L. gibba) are long-day plants, while others (such as L. minor) are short-day plants.