Botanical Family · Alismatales

Lemnaceae

Arum Family

2 speciesOrder Alismatales2+ well-known plants

The Lemnaceae family (Arum Family) is a botanical family placed in the order Alismatales. In the SASYA catalogue it spans 2 species. Its members are predominantly herbs. Several members are valued in traditional medicine. Familiar examples include Common Duckweed and Duckweed.

Browse all 2 species ↓

Representative specimen · Lemnaceae

Key pattern

The world's smallest flowering plants: a tiny flattened green disc or frond, often just a few millimetres across, floating freely on still water with a single thread-like root, or none at all, hanging below.

Flowering is rare and easy to miss — most reproduction happens vegetatively, with a parent frond simply budding off a genetically identical daughter frond that separates and floats away on its own.

Identify the species

Which Lemnaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Lemnaceae species.

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Key TraitWhat single feature best distinguishes it?

Extremely tiny floating duckweed fronds

Tiny floating leaf-like body with a swollen underside (common duckweed)

Family identification method

To check whether a plant belongs to Lemnaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.

Learn the full family-identification method

Typical flower & fruit

Flower symmetryVariable
InflorescenceSpike
FruitVariable

Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.

Notable members

Common DuckweedLemna gibbaDuckweedLemna perpusilla

Families that can look similar

Araceae

Compare against Araceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.

Compare Araceae

Alismataceae

Compare against Alismataceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.

Compare Alismataceae

Aponogetonaceae

Compare against Aponogetonaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.

Compare Aponogetonaceae

Hydrocharitaceae

Compare against Hydrocharitaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.

Compare Hydrocharitaceae

All 2 species in LEMNACEAE

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