Practical
Plants

Spirodela polyrrhiza

Great Duckweed

a perennial member of the Spirodela genus in the family Lemnaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Lemnaceae
Life cycle
perennial
Growth rate
vigorous
Height
0.01 m
Spread
0.05 m
Flower type
monoecious

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The plant is sometimes used as a food[4][5]. No more details are given.

Plant part
Leaves

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The whole plant is antipruritic, antipyretic, cardiotonic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic[1][3][7]. It stimulates the appearance of measles rash[1][3]. It is used in the treatment of colds, measles, oedema and difficulty in urination[3].

Product or use
Antipruritic
Product or use
Antipyretic
Product or use
Cardiotonic
Product or use
Carminative
Product or use
Diaphoretic
Product or use
Diuretic

Environment

Range
Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to N. Africa and Asia. America, Australia
Habitat
Still water in ditches and ponds[2].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
aquatic
Hardiness
Zone 5+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The plant divides freely in the growing season and does not need help.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Requires a sunny position in still water that is rich in nitrates and lime[6]. A very small plant without differentiation into various parts such as leaf, stem etc (they are called Thalli), it is 8mm in diameter and often forming a mat on the water surface and perennating by means of buds (turions) that sink in autumn and rise to the surface in spring. The so-called rootcap (really only an apical swelling), has a higher specific gravity than any other part of the plant, righting capsized individuals[6].

References

  1. ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X

    ↩1↩2

  2. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩

  3. Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  4. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  5. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩

  6. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  7. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩

Edit this page