Globe Thistle vs Rootless Duckweed

Echinops exaltatus compared with Wolffia arrhiza

Key Differences

• Globe Thistle is Not Evaluated while Rootless Duckweed is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Globe Thistle	Rootless Duckweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family	Tenrecidae	Araceae
Genus	Echinops	Wolffia
Species	Echinops exaltatus	Wolffia arrhiza

Conservation Status

Globe Thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Rootless Duckweed

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Globe Thistle	Rootless Duckweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Globe Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (13 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden