Water meal is an aquatic plant in the Araceae family. It is the smallest flowering plant in the world flourishing in temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical locations. Each plant is typically 1/42" long and 1/85" wide. This aquatic plant, resembling cornmeal, is found floating on the surface of still to slowly moving waters of ponds, lakes, beaver ponds, ditches, and swamps. Each greenish-yellow tiny plant is rootless, branchless and also has no leaves. It is an oval body of undifferentiated vegetative tissue (thallus) that produces a pistil and a single stamen originating from a floral cavity in the side. It typically reproduces vegetatively, not flowering often. The flower is produced in a depression on top of the plant. Under the right conditions, such as warm water and bright light, each plant can double is size every two days. It can quickly cover the water surface. It has also been noted it can take up excess nutrients from the water where it is located, thereby cleaning the waterway. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: It can become quite aggressive.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil drainage
Frequent Standing Water | Moist | Occasionally Wet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
High
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Spreading
Texture
Fine
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
There are no leaves.
Flower form
Spadix
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Wolffia lays flat on the water surface resembling a green floating carpet. The plant has a non-showy flower that does not bloom often.
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Its fruit is a utricle, a small, bladder like, thin walled fruit. Due to their tiny size, the fruits are not visible.
Bark detail
There is no bark.
Stem detail
There are no stems.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Asia
Wildlife value
Eaten by herbivorous fish and a variety of waterfowl.
Attracts
Songbirds
Play value
Easy to Grow; Textural; Wildlife Food Source
Food & Medicine
Edibility
The plant can be eaten as a vegetable. A high-protein food source, it contains approximately 40% protein. In its native region, it is often eaten as a vegetable, having a taste similar to sweet cabbage.