Azolla filiculoides
| Azolla filiculoides | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Zoomed picture of Azolla filiculoides | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pteridophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida / Pteridopsida (disputed) |
| Order: | Salviniales |
| Family: | Azollaceae |
| Genus: | Azolla |
| Species: | A. filiculoides |
| Binomial name | |
| Azolla filiculoides Lam.[1][2] | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Azolla filiculoides (Water Fern) is a species of Azolla, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas as well as most of the old world including Asia and Australia.
It is a floating aquatic fern, with very fast growth, capable of spreading over lake surfaces to give complete coverage of the water in only a few months. Each individual plant is 1-2 cm across, green tinged pink, orange or red at the edges, branching freely, and breaking into smaller sections as it grows. It is not tolerant of cold temperatures, and in temperate regions it largely dies back in winter, surviving by means of submerged buds. Like other species of Azolla, it can fix nitrogen from the air.
Fossil records from as recent as the last interglacials are known from several locations in Europe (Hyde et al. 1978).
Cultivation
The species has been introduced to many regions of the Old World, grown for its nitrogen-fixing ability which can be utilized to enhance the growth rate of crops grown in water like rice, or by removal from lakes for use as green manure. It has become naturalized, sometimes also an invasive species, in several regions, including western Europe, southern Africa, tropical Asia, Australia (where it is considered native), and New Zealand.
Distribution
Ireland: Introduced into Clandeboye Lake, Co. Down.[4]
Gallery
References
- ↑ In: Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique 1(1): 343. 1783. "Name - Azolla Lam.". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
Annotation: a sp. nov. reference for Azolla filiculoides
Type Specimens HT: Azolla filiculoides - 1 2 Hussner, A. (2006). "NOBANIS -- Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet -- Azolla filiculoides" (PDF). Online Database of the North European and Baltic Network on Invasive Alien Species. Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
- ↑ Tropicos
- ↑ Hackney, P. (Ed) 1992. Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland. Third Edition. Institute of Irish Studies & The Queen's University of Belfast. ISBN 0-85389-446-9(HB)
Further reading
- Hyde, H. A., Wade, A. E., & Harrison, S. G. (1978). Welsh Ferns. National Museum of Wales. ISBN 0-7200-0210-9.
- Sainty, G. & Jacobs, S. (2003) Waterplants in Australia. Sainty and Associates, Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. ISBN 0-9581055-1-0
External links
Media related to Azolla filiculoides at Wikimedia Commons- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Azolla filiculoides
- Flora of North America: Azolla filiculoides
- USDA Plants Profile: Azolla filiculoides
- Plants for a Future: Azolla filiculoides
- NSW Flora Online: Azolla filiculoides