beaded chestnut vs Common Duckweed

Agrochola lychnidis compared with Lemna minor

Key Differences

beaded chestnut is Near Threatened while Common Duckweed is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	beaded chestnut	Common Duckweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family	Noctuidae	Araceae
Genus	Agrochola	Lemna
Species	Agrochola lychnidis	Lemna minor

Conservation Status

beaded chestnut

NT — Near Threatened

Common Duckweed

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	beaded chestnut	Common Duckweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

beaded chestnut

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Common Duckweed

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Guyana).

beaded chestnut

The Beaded chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis) is a species in the genus Agrochola. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Common Duckweed

<em>Lemna minor</em>, commonly known as common duckweed, is a tiny floating aquatic plant in the family Araceae, recognized as one of the smallest flowering plants on Earth. Classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species enjoys a broad distribution across Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America, colonizing a diverse array of habitats including grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated land with access to standing or slow-moving water. It typically inhabits ponds, lakes, ditches, and quiet streams, forming extensive green mats on the water surface. <em>Lemna minor</em> reproduces predominantly through asexual budding, allowing populations to expand rapidly under favorable conditions. The species provides vital ecosystem services, stabilizing nutrient cycles, reducing algal blooms through competition, and offering food and shelter for aquatic invertebrates, fish, and waterfowl. Due to its sensitivity to water quality, it is frequently used as a bioindicator in ecotoxicological research. Common duckweed has also attracted scientific interest for its potential in wastewater treatment and as a high-protein animal feed supplement. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.