Spirodela polyrhiza

(L.) Schneiden

Great duckweed, Zi peng, Duckmeat

AraceaeLeavesPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The plant is sometimes used as food, though no further details are recorded.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in ponds and lakes and rice fields in warm places. In China it occurs between sea level and 2900 m altitude. It occurs throughout the tropics. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Africa, Asia, Botswana, Britain, Central America*, China, Cuba*, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Europe, Guatemala, Haiti*, Hawaii, Himalayas, Iran, Jamaica*, Korea, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mexico*, Middle East, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, SE Asia, Taiwan, USA, Virgin Islands, West Indies*,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bahamas, Bhutan, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Switzerland, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Estonia, Egypt, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, Fiji, Micronesia, France, Gabon, United Kingdom, Grenada, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, North Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Malta, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Palau, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, United States, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A herb. It grows in water. The fronds are free floating. 1-10 stick together. They are flat and green on the upper surface but often red underneath. They have pouches at the base. They produce daughter fronds and sometimes a flower. There is a small scale which covers the place where it is attached to the root.

How to Grow

Propagation: The plant divides freely during the growing season and requires no assistance to propagate.

Medicinal Uses

The whole plant is antipruritic, antipyretic, cardiotonic, carminative, diaphoretic, and diuretic. It stimulates the appearance of the measles rash and is used in the treatment of colds, measles, oedema, and difficulty in urination.

Other Uses

None known.

Notes

There are 3 Spirodela species. It is used in medicine. Also in the family Lemnaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Lemna polyrhiza L.

References (6)

Li Heng, Landholt, E., Lemnaceae. Flora of china. p
Linnaea 13:392. 1839
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu
Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 675
Urgamal, M., et al, 2014, Conspectus of the Vascular Plants of Mongolia. Mongolia Academy of Sciences Institute of Botany and National University of Mongolia Department of Biology. p 38