Author: | Cornelis den Hartog & F. van der Plas 1970 |
Family: |
Lemnaceae
- or Araceae? |
Habitat: |
Assam,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, China India, Japan, Java, Korea,
Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto,
Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sumatera,
Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |
Soil: |
Water |
Water:
|
Plenty! |
Sun: |
Medium -
Maximum |
Thickness: |
0,4 - 0,9
millimetres |
Height: |
Less than
one millimetre |
Flower:
|
Minute,
Greenish |
Propagate: |
Seeds/Division |
Names:
|
Asian
Watermeal, Water Eggs |
Synonyms: |
Lemna globosa William Roxburgh 1832.
Grantia globosa Griff. ex
Voigt 1845.
Telmatophace cylindracea, Welw. ex Hegelm.
Wolffia schleidenii, Miq.
Wolffia cylindracea Hegelm. 1868 |
This minute member of the
Lemnaceae family was given this name by Cornelis den Hartog and F.
van der Plas in 1970. It is found on the waters of southern Asia.
This is the world's
smallest flowering plant! It only consists of thalli; an
undifferentiated vegetative tissue, and the minute flowers have only
one stamen and one pistil. Although the seed are extremely tiny, it
makes up more than half the entire plant. It is composed of about 40% protein,
making it a very potential high-protein human food source.
Recently research suggest
the correct family actually is Araceae, making it related to the
amassing Amorphophallus titanum! |