Landoltia punctata

Common Name: dotted duckweed

Family: Araceae

Common Synonyms: Spirodela punctata

USDA Hardiness Zone: 11- 5

Growth Habit: Aquatic, Forb/Herb

Origin: Australia and southeast Asia

FISC Category: 2

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: Earliest Florida herbarium specimen from 1958

IFAS Assessment:

• North: OK
• Central: CAUTION
• South: CAUTION

Description

Tiny free-floating aquatic plant made up of individual fronds with 2-4 fine roots. Mature fronds of Landoltia punctata appear 1.5 to 2 times longer than wide, with widths measuring from 1-3 mm. Fronds intense green and range from egg-shaped to kidney-shaped, and often sparkle in the sunlight because of waxy cuticle.

Habitat

Slow-moving waters, swamps, canals, ponds, irrigation ditches

Comments

From IFAS: Landoltia punctata looks very similar to the native giant duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza. It is frequently found growing in rivers, ponds, lakes, and sloughs nearly throughout the state. Dotted duckweed is native to the Old World but escaped from cultivation. It blooms all year (Wunderlin, 2003).

Control Methods

• Manual: NA
• Chemical: Diquat/Fluridone
• Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

IFAS, Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas. https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/assessments/landoltia-punctata/. Accessed June 13, 2017.

IFAS, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. 2013. https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/landoltia-punctata/. Accessed June 13, 2017.

C.C. Jacono. 2017. Landoltia punctata. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=1116. Accessed June 13, 2017.

U.S. Army Corps of Enginers. 2012. Aquatic Herbicides. http://glmris.anl.gov/documents/docs/anscontrol/AquaticHerbicides.pdf. Accessed June 13, 2017.