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Wednesday, 21 September 2011

The UK's smallest vascular plant

I called in briefly at Lewes Railways Lands yesterday to see the country's smallest vascular plant, Rootless Duckweed Wolffia arrhiza. Michael Blencowe informed me of its presence there a few weeks back and took me to the exact spot. It looks like algae from a distance and feels quite odd to the touch, a little like couscous or Hundreds and Thousands. Dwarfed even by Least Duckweed, this really is an odd plant. I've always wanted to see this species and it brings my pan-species list up to 3615. It did however not feel like a plant tick, more like alien baby food. I think I look quite at home in a ditch!
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3 comments:

  1. Gibster21 September 2011 at 17:56

    Is that a Teletubbies knob on top of your head???

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  2. Graeme Lyons22 September 2011 at 12:25

    I knew someone would spot that! Yes, I am the mythical firth Teletubby who was axed from the original line up due to an unkempt appearance, foul mouth and poor timing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gibster28 February 2022 at 22:50

    Also, that looks more like Wolffia columbiana to me. Honest guv, I ain't just read the BSBI write-up about it......

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