OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Duckweed is one of the smallest flowering plants in the whole world, and each little plant is only about the size of a pencil eraser! It looks like tiny green circles floating on top of the water. When a lot of duckweed grows together, it can cover an entire pond like a bright green carpet.

Each duckweed plant is just a little green body called a “frond” with one or two hair-thin roots that hang down into the water. It does not have a real stem or regular leaves like most other plants. Duckweed can double in number in just two days, which means it grows really, really fast!