| Azolla cristata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Azolla cristata (reddish) and Lemna (green) in a small pool | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Polypodiophyta |
| Class: | Polypodiopsida |
| Order: | Salviniales |
| Family: | Salviniaceae |
| Genus: | Azolla |
| Species: | A. cristata
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| Binomial name | |
| Azolla cristata | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Synonyms of A. cristata include: | |
Azolla cristata , the Carolina mosquitofern,[3] Carolina azolla or water velvet, is a species of Azolla native to the Americas, in eastern North America from southern Ontario southward, and from the east coast west to Wisconsin and Texas, and in the Caribbean, and in Central and South America from southeastern Mexico (Chiapas) south to northern Argentina and Uruguay.[4]
It is a freshwater aquatic fern, with scale-like fronds 5–10 mm long, green to reddish, most often reddish in strong light and in winter. They are covered in tiny protuberances called trichomes that give it the appearance of velvet.[5][6] It is able to fix nitrogen from the air by means of symbiotic cyanobacteria. It can survive winter water temperatures of 5 °C (41 °F), with optimum summer growth between 25–30 °C (77–86 °F).[7]
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- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Azolla caroliniana Eastern Mosquito Fern". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ Evrard, C.; Van Hove, C. (2004). "Taxonomy of the American Azolla Species (Azollaceae): A Critical Review". Systematics and Geography of Plants. 74 (2): 301–318.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Azolla caroliniana". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ "Azolla caroliniana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ Flora of North America: Azolla cristata
- ^ Aquatic Plant Information System: Azolla Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NESAC: Package of Practice for Azolla