Carolina Mosquito-fern
Azolla caroliniana
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in stagnant waters of interdune ponds, limesink ponds, old millponds, beaver ponds, floodplain sloughs, often locally abundant. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
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 38 Louisiana parishes.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Azolla
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- Samea multiplicalisSalvinia Stem-borer Moth
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
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
- Bloom · “June to September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Not applicable” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Hardiness · “Zones 7a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Azolla filiculoides; Carolina Mosquito Fern
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- 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