Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Star Duckweed

Lemna trisulca

L.

Star Duckweed

G5Secure Found in 9 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.154220
Element CodePMLEM01070
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderArales
FamilyAraceae
GenusLemna
Other Common Names
Lenticule trisulquée (FR) star duckweed (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-08-20
Change Date1984-06-07
Edition Date2024-08-20
Edition AuthorsJohnson, J. (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Lemna trisulca is a tiny aquatic plant that is found around the world. With a large range extent, more than 1000 occurrences, abundant habitat, and broad habitat preferences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Lemna trisulca is native to every continent except South America and parts of Africa. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, there are estimated to be more than 1000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Lemna trisulca is potentially threatened by development, water infrastructure maintenance, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, tolerance of light disturbance, and affinity for typically abundant habitats, as well as no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Lemna trisulca grows in still to slowly moving, mesotrophic to eutrophic waters of lakes, rivers, ponds, beaver ponds, swamps, and calcareous springs (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024, Native Plant Trust 2024).
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLAND
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
UtahS1Yes
MaineSNRYes
NevadaS3Yes
WashingtonSNRYes
WyomingS3Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
ArizonaSNRYes
DelawareSNRYes
New MexicoSNRYes
MontanaS4Yes
IllinoisS3Yes
MarylandS1Yes
VirginiaS1Yes
MassachusettsSNRYes
ColoradoS3Yes
MissouriS2Yes
OregonSNRYes
New HampshireS1Yes
New YorkS5Yes
CaliforniaSNRYes
AlaskaSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
NebraskaSNRYes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
New JerseyS2Yes
IdahoSNRYes
IndianaSNRYes
VermontS4Yes
KansasS1Yes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
British ColumbiaS5Yes
Nova ScotiaS4Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
ManitobaS4Yes
Prince Edward IslandS3Yes
AlbertaS5Yes
OntarioS5Yes
NunavutSHYes
QuebecS4Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
Yukon TerritoryS4Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undeterminedUnknownUnknownUnknown

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, Short-lived
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (9)
California (5)
AreaForestAcres
Hoover - NorthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest1,574
Iceberg - Mill CreekHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest26,988
South SierraInyo National Forest41,853
South SierraSequoia National Forest8,008
WoodpeckerSequoia National Forest11,936
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Borah PeakSalmon-Challis National Forest130,463
Wyoming (3)
AreaForestAcres
Libby FlatsMedicine Bow-Routt National Forest11,107
Wapiti Valley NorthShoshone National Forest18,345
Wapiti Valley SouthShoshone National Forest43,517
References (8)
  1. Chayka, K. 2024. Minnesota Wildflowers. https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info
  2. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2000. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 22. Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in part), and Zingiberidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 352 pp.
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  4. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  6. Native Plant Trust. 2024. Go Botany website. Online. Available: https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org (accessed 2024).
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  8. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.