| Multiplication - predominantly vegetative.
Intensive growth
occurs from June through August. Plants double the mass of their
body in 1 - 6 days, and the doubling of frond number occurs in 2 - 3
days.
Mode of pollination - cross-fertilization, with the aid of the wind or
insects.
Flowering of duckweeds
At the initiation of flowering, fronds are always located on
the surface
of the water, with air chambers more developed than in the vegetative
state.
Vegetative fronds of Lemna gibba. |
Flowering fronds of Lemna gibba. |
The period of flowering, from the moment of the initiation of
flowering
fronds to the end of floral development, is about 20 days.
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| As duckweed
prepares for flowering,
the volume of the fronds increases. |
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Flowering fronds of Lemna,
Krasnodar, 1995 |
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| Common form of
inflorescence of Lemna
minor |
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Common form of
inflorescence of Lemna
trisulca. |
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| Stigma of the first flower
of Lemna gibba. |
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| The stigma and the stamen
of the 2nd male
flower of Lemna. |
Bottom view of flowering fronds of Lemna
gibba. |
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Newly emerging fronds in
flowering duckweed
are as ready for flowering as the maternal
frond. Evidence for this is the swollen air cavities in the young
frond. |
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Flowering fronds of Lemna
minor.
In contrast to L. gibba,
flowering
L. minor does not increase the dimensions of its fronds. |
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