Duckweed (botanically known as Lemnaceae) is a stem less, aquatic flowering plant. Duckweed is a small and free floating and grows on the surface of still or slow moving water in carpet-like groups. You can compare it with soft tissue often attached with roots. It seems that Duckweed produces minute flowers.

Duckweed grows across the world except in very cold regions. Duckweed does not normally grow in rivers unless there is a reduced flow of water. Generally reproduction rate of duckweed is marvelous. Duckweeds grow 20 times faster than a corn and is able to cover 1 acre in just 45 days if unrestrained.

Duckweed can be used as a water purifier. But using duckweed for water cleansing is certainly a low tech and time consuming process. In addition, duckweed cannot get rid of pesticides, heavy metals or toxic substances.

Many varieties of ducks consume Duckweed which in turn transports it to other water bodies. Although Duckweed does provide habitats for micro invertebrates, Duckweed are aggressive invaders in quiet waters so it is important to control them. If the Duckweed covers the surface of a pond, it will deplete the oxygen, killing fishes and the submerged plants who will not receive the sunlight for their growth.

Duckweed (Lemna)

How to Identify Duckweed:

• Duckweed is green, carpet-like groups

• Common Duckweed has 1 to 3 leaves measuring 1/16 to 1/8 inches in length

• Giant Duckweed has 1 to 4 leaves measuring 1/16 to 1/4 inches in length

• 1 to 6 roots may grow from each plant

• Duckweeds are Stem-less and seed bearing plant

• There are several varieties of Duckweek that grow together in dense colonies

CLEAN-FLO International controls duckweed along with filamentous algae. It is a real problem when there is an abundance of nutrients in water. The problem is that killing duckweed often results in an algal bloom, and killing algae often results in heavy duckweed growth. We also provide C-FLO-6 for duckweed control by feeding on non-living organic matter. C-FLO-6 is particularly effective in reducing nutrients that are food for aquatic weeds. For more information on our products please visit Algae and Duckweed Control page.

Information on Duckweed Control