Watermeal
(Wolffia columbiana)
Native
Watermeal is a tiny floating plant that makes swirls across the water and looks like bright green strawberry seeds up close.
Description
Light to bright green, individual watermeal plants look like little granules of corn meal. Watermeal often makes swirls on the water, floating and blowing around with the wind. Each plant grows to be thirty-nine thousandths of an inch to fifty-nine thousandths of an inch long (one to one and a half millimeters), about the size of a pinhead. Watermeal plants are spherical or oval-shaped and have no roots. It is the smallest flowering plant in the world; flowers can only be observed through a microscope.
Many people confuse watermeal for duckweed and are disheartened when their duckweed treatment does not fully work. Watermeal can be knocked back by numerous products but will not completely die off. Proper identification can help save time, effort, and money.
Location
Watermeal can be found all over the United States.
Propagation
Seeds
Management Options
Click here for more information on how to control watermeal.