Least Duckweed
Lemna minuta
Found in quiet waters, seepages. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Standing water

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
Height and bloom: 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 3 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 85 animals.
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
Who uses this plant?
4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lemna
- Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Elophila tinealisBlack Duckweed Moth
- Neocataclysta magnificalisScrollwork Pyralid
16BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lemna
- Aix sponsaWood Duck
- Anas platyrhynchosMallard
- Aythya affinisLesser Scaup
- Aythya americanaRedhead
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Aythya marilaGreater Scaup
- Aythya valisineriaCanvasback
- Bucephala clangulaCommon Goldeneye
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
Show all 16
- Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
- Mareca americanaAmerican Wigeon
- Mareca streperaGadwall
- Porzana carolinaSora
- Quiscalus majorBoat-tailed Grackle
- Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Araceae
- Flower color
- Green
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Water (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications













