Castor vs Rootless Duckweed

Ricinus communis compared with Wolffia arrhiza

Key Differences

• Castor is Not Evaluated while Rootless Duckweed is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Castor	Rootless Duckweed
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family	Euphorbiaceae	Araceae
Genus	Ricinus	Wolffia
Species	Ricinus communis	Wolffia arrhiza

Evolutionary Relationship

Castor and Rootless Duckweed share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Magnoliophyta. (Flowering Plants)

Conservation Status

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Rootless Duckweed

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Castor	Rootless Duckweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

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.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 10 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇹 Italy 🇯🇵 Japan 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden