Dotted Watermeal vs Rootless Duckweed

Wolffia borealis compared with Wolffia arrhiza

Key Differences

• Dotted Watermeal is Least Concern while Rootless Duckweed is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Dotted Watermeal	Rootless Duckweed
Kingdom same	Plantae (식물)	Plantae (식물)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (피자식물문)	Magnoliophyta (피자식물문)
Class same	Liliopsida (백합강)	Liliopsida (백합강)
Order same	Alismatales (택사목)	Alismatales (택사목)
Family same	Araceae	Araceae
Genus same	Wolffia	Wolffia
Species	Wolffia borealis	Wolffia arrhiza

Evolutionary Relationship

Dotted Watermeal and Rootless Duckweed share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Wolffia.

Conservation Status

Dotted Watermeal

LC — Least Concern

Rootless Duckweed

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Dotted Watermeal	Rootless Duckweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Dotted Watermeal

Habitat

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

Range

Found in 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.