Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid.

Common Duckmeat; Greater Duckweed

Herb

Annual

Vascular

<strong>Common Duckmeat</strong> is a native free-floating aquatic herbaceous perennial in the Arum family (<strong>ARACEAE</strong>). It can be found throughout Alabama. <strong>Common Duckmeat</strong> occurs on the surface of ponds and lakes, in sloughs and canals, in beaver ponds, and in ponded or slow moving streams. It often occurs inter-mixed with Duckweeds (<em><strong>Lemna</strong></em> species), and with the floating aquatic <strong>Mosquito Fern</strong> (<strong><em>Azolla caroliniana</em></strong> Willdenow). <strong><em>Common Duckmeat</em></strong> consists of 1 or more connected floating leaf-stems known as fronds. The frond is orbicular to obovate in outline, glabrous, and with entire margins. The frond is dark green above with 7-21 veins and often a conspicuous red spot. The frond is red on the lower surface with 7-21 roots. Reproduction is mainly asexual and flowers are much reduced and rarely produced. The flowers occur in a reproductive pouch on the frond. Flowers lack petals and sepals and consist of 2 stamens and 1 ovary. During the autumn a specialized frond known as a turion is produced. It is very dense and sinks to the bottom of the water body where it overwinters. The floating fronds are killed by low temperatures. <strong><em>Common Duckmeat</em></strong> can be very abundant at a particular locality in one year and then be completely absent for several years. Under ideal growing conditions plants can rapidly cover the entire water surface. <strong><em>Spirodela</em></strong> differs from <strong><em>Lemna</em></strong> species by having more than 1 root per frond. <strong>Common Duckmeat</strong> is eaten by many species of wildlife such as water fowl and fish. It has been investigated for use as a biofuel, for bioremediation of over nitrified waters, and as a food for domestic livestock and humans.--<strong><em>A. Diamond</em></strong>

When <strong>Linnaeus</strong> created the basionym for this species, he used the epithet &quot;<strong><em>polyrhiza</em></strong>&quot;. &nbsp;Later, <strong>Schleiden</strong> transferred the taxon to <strong><em>Spirodela</em></strong>, but he erroneously added an additional &quot;r&quot; to the epithet as &quot;<strong><em>polyrrhiza</em></strong>&quot;--a mistake since perpetuated in numerous taxonomic works. &nbsp;The spelling error is permissibly correctable by the <strong>CODE</strong> back to the original spelling, as treated here.--<strong><em>B.R. Keener</em></strong>

Native OBL (NWPL)

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