Asian watermeal vs Rootless Duckweed

Wolffia globosa compared with Wolffia arrhiza

Key Differences

Asian watermeal is Least Concern while Rootless Duckweed is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asian watermeal	Rootless Duckweed
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order same	Alismatales (Alismatales)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family same	Araceae	Araceae
Genus same	Wolffia	Wolffia
Species	Wolffia globosa	Wolffia arrhiza

Evolutionary Relationship

Asian watermeal and Rootless Duckweed share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Wolffia.

View Genus: Wolffia

Conservation Status

Asian watermeal

LC — Least Concern

Rootless Duckweed

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asian watermeal	Rootless Duckweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asian watermeal

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Angola), Asia (Singapore, Taiwan), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Rootless Duckweed

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Asian watermeal

The Asian watermeal (Wolffia globosa) is a species in the genus Wolffia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Widely distributed across Africa (Angola), Asia (Singapore, Taiwan), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).