Wolffia brasiliensis Wedd., . Wolffia brasiliensis — POINTED WOLFFIA, DOTTED WOLFFIA Short–lived aquatic herb, clonal via fragmentation forming floating colonies, lacking roots, not rosetted, unit = a mother frond and mostly with daughter frond in line (alternate distichous) arising from a basal pouch, the daughter frond breaking free to become new mother frond; frond = minute stem (basal portion) + leaf, highly modified, terminal pouch depressed inside and lacking a circular rim, containing a deep–seated shoot tip to produce a daughter frond (exceedingly rarely an inflorescence), buoyant at water surface with green upper portion emergent, exposed surface non–wettable, glabrous.
Stem (stipe) connecting daughter frond from pouch at base of mother frond, inconspicuous.
Frond with green exposed portion and thicker, colorless lower portion = round–bottomed flotation device, exposed surface ovate–tortoise carapacelike to limpetlike in outline rounded to obtuse at tip, appearing somewhat truncate at base (transparent pouch) and exposed surface having a distinct, mountainlike point (closer to base), in range as individual frond 0.5—0.8 × 0.6—1.25 × 0.5—0.8 mm, exposed surface light green and minutely textured (epidermal cell outlines and stomates).
Inflorescence not observed in range.
A. C. Gibson