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Carolina Mosquito-fern

Azolla caroliniana

Found in stagnant waters of interdune ponds, limesink ponds, old millponds, beaver ponds, floodplain sloughs, often locally abundant. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

19
Modest

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Moist to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Bloom
June to September

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 32 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Georgia pond and emergent wetland
Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Azolla

  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Samea multiplicalisSalvinia Stem-borer Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Salviniaceae
Hardiness
Zones 7a–11b
Flower color
Not applicable

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Azolla filiculoides; Carolina Mosquito Fern

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

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How to check your spot

Sources