Azolla

Plant Characteristics
Habit		aquatic

Cultivation

Scientific Names
Azollaceae >	Azolla >				Lam. >

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Azolla (mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss, water fern) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns, the only genus in the family Azollaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, looking nothing like conventional ferns but more resembling duckweed or some mosses.

Azolla floats on the surface of water by means of numerous, small, closely-overlapping scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water.

Azolla are also serious weeds in many parts of the world, entirely covering some bodies of water. The myth that no mosquito can penetrate the coating of fern to lay its eggs in the water gives the plant its common name "mosquito fern".^[1]

Read about Azolla in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Azolla (Greek, to destroy by drying). Salviniaceae. A small genus of floating aquatics with small, pinnately branched sts. and minute fleshy 2-lobed lvs., producing 2 sorts of spores in globular sporocarps. The plants multiply rapidly by self-division, and will grow readily in water containing a little nutriment. The species are distinguishable only by microscopic examination. In natural conditions, the plants grow so closely together and multiply so rapidly as to cover very completely any quiet water surface. For this reason, they have been found useful in preventing the propagation of mosquitos in Germany and Panama. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.