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Common Duckweed

Lemna minor

Found in still to slowly moving waters of ponds, lakes, beaver ponds, and swamps. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

31
Good

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

Profile 100%

Height
3 inches
Spread
1–3 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Summer
Fruiting season
Summer

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 56 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 2

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 128 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lemna

  • Elophila icciusalisPondside Pyralid, Pondside Crambid
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Elophila tinealisBlack Duckweed Moth
  • Neocataclysta magnificalisScrollwork Pyralid
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Araceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–10b
Flower color
Green or white
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Single crown
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Summer

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 4a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “3 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · 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” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources