Algae Corner: "What Is It?" - The World's Smallest Flowering Plant, Watermeal

Welcome back to the Algae Corner! Today's “What Is It” episode is on the world's tiniest flowering plant known as watermeal. This is a plant in the genus Wolffia, and it's in the duckweed family, Lemnaceae. It is the simplest and smallest flowering plant in the world.

Want to get Algae Corner Updates? Get the latest news by subscribing to our channel:



Algae Corner: Algae, Algae Everywhere!
There are algae that grow just about everywhere you look! I have to warn you, after watching this episode, you may just start to see algae, algae everywhere, like I do.

Algae Corner: "What Is It?" - Mites With Bite
Today we're talking about a creepy piercer predator that often feeds on insect larva and crustaceans. They're tiny arthropod animals that look a lot like tiny spiders. Let's check it out under the microscope!

Algae Corner Fan Letter: Why Shouldn't I Use Straw to Control Algae?
In today's episode, we'll examine the problems associated with using straw to control algae, including bacterial growth and chemical production.

Algae Corner: "What Is It?" - Elephant Snot / Mougeotia
Today's "What Is It" episode of Algae Corner is on Elephant Snot, also known as Mougeotia. It's sort of light and bubbly, and sort of looks and feels like snot, hence the name. We'll help you identify and control it if it gets out of hand.

Algae Corner: "What Is It?" - Water Net / Hydrodictyon
Hydrodictyon is also known as water net. This is a neat filamentous green alga classified in the division Chlorophyta. Today we'll talk about what they look like, how to identify them, and how to control them if they get out of hand.

Algae Corner Fan Letter: Does Copper Kill Fish?
Copper algaecides can be used very safely by following the EPA-approved label instructions. In today's episode, we'll discuss the well-documented safety of copper in addition to exploring a much more common culprit for fish kills.

About the Size of a Pinhead

The plant itself averages 1/42” long and 1/85” wide, or about the size of a pinhead. It can weigh 1/200,000th of an ounce, or about two grains of table salt! They're very hard to see with the naked eye when they aren’t in a big group. If you tried to fill even a small thimble with them, it would take about 5,000 plants to fill that up – that’s how small these plants are.

Grainy & Sticky

To me, these plants sort of feel grainy, like tiny little gel balls. They feel like really tough little beads.

They can stick to waterfowl and jump from one waterbody to another... and before you know it, they’ve completely covered a system.

Often Mistaken for Duckweed

Watermeal often grows in concert with other things like duckweed. These have a little bit bigger fronds, but again, they look very similar.

They’ll grow together and have very similar growth pods, and can cover a system in tandem.

In Summary

If you see these tiny guys out there, they can be a big nuisance. Remember that SePRO can help. We have really neat solutions to help clear up both duckweed and watermeal.

Thanks for tuning in to this “What Is It” episode of Algae Corner talking about the world's tiniest flowering plant, known as watermeal.