Lemna gibba
L.
Gibbous Duckweed, Swollen duckweed, Windbags, Duckweed
(c) Matthieu Gauvain, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Matthieu Gauvain
(c) Юрій Бенгус, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Юрій Бенгус
(c) Юрій Бенгус, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Юрій Бенгус
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves
Leaves - raw or cooked. The leaves are cultivated in Israel foe use as a salad or vegetable.
Where to Find It
Temperate areas in Europe, including Britain, to the Himalayas, Africa, S. and N. America.
TEMPERATE ASIA: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Egypt (Sinai), Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia (Ciscaucasia), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation (Dagestan), Japan (Honshu) TROPICAL ASIA: India, Pakistan NORTHERN AMERICA: United States (Illinois, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada), Mexico (Baja California (Norte), Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Ciudad de México, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave) SOUTHERN AMERICA: United States (Virgin Islands, U.S.), Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina (Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Río Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán), Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Russian Federation (European part), Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Federation (Astrakhan, Saratov, Volgogradskaja oblast), Ukraine (incl. Krym), Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal AFRICA: Spain (Canarias), Portugal (Madeira Islands), Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Africa (Cape Province, Free State, Kwa. Zulu-Natal, Transvaal)
How to Identify
Lemna gibba is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a fast rate.The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). Suitable pH: neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It can grow in water.
How to Grow
Requires a sunny position in still water that is rich in nitrates and lime. Duckweed can be a troublesome pond weed though it is easily controlled by simply scooping it out. This scooped out material makes an excellent addition to the compost heap. The growing plant is a good food source for fish and birds, as well as providing cover for creatures in the pond. Although it is towards the limit of its climatic range in Britain, it often flowers here if growing in a sheltered sunny position. It over-winters in temperate areas by means of resting buds which sink to the bottom of the pond in the late autumn and rise again in the spring.
Propagation: Seed - we have no information on this species but, since it spreads so rapidly by division, it really needs no extra help once it is in a pond.
