Azolla

Azolla
Temporal range: Maastrichtian-Holocene
Azolla caroliniana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Polypodiophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Salviniales
Family: Salviniaceae
Genus: Azolla
Lam.[1]
Type species
Azolla filiculoides[1]
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Carpanthus Rafinesque
  • Rhizosperma Meyen

Azolla (mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss, water fern) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns in the family Salviniaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, looking nothing like other typical ferns but more resembling duckweed or some mosses. Azolla filiculoides is one of just two fern species for which a reference genome has been published.[2] It is believed that this genus grew so prolifically during the Eocene (and thus absorbed such a large amount of carbon) that it triggered a global cooling event that has lasted to the present.[3]

Azolla taken from the Philippines

Azolla may establish as an invasive plant in areas where it is not native [where?]. In such a situation it can alter aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity substantially.[4]

  1. ^ a b In: Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique 1(1): 343. 1783. "Name - Azolla Lam". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved February 19, 2010. Annotation: a sp. nov. reference for Azolla filiculoides
    Type Specimens HT: Azolla filiculoides
  2. ^ Li, Fay-Wei; Brouwer, Paul; Carretero-Paulet, Lorenzo; Cheng, Shifeng; de Vries, Jan; Delaux, Pierre-Marc; Eily, Ariana; Koppers, Nils; Kuo, Li-Yaung (July 2, 2018). "Fern genomes elucidate land plant evolution and cyanobacterial symbioses". Nature Plants. 4 (7): 460–472. doi:10.1038/s41477-018-0188-8. ISSN 2055-0278. PMC 6786969. PMID 29967517.
  3. ^ Speelman, E. N.; Van Kempen, M. M. L.; Barke, J.; Brinkhuis, H.; Reichart, G. J.; Smolders, A. J. P.; Roelofs, J. G. M.; Sangiorgi, F.; De Leeuw, J. W.; Lotter, A. F.; Sinninghe Damsté, J. S. (March 2009). "The Eocene Arctic Azolla bloom: environmental conditions, productivity and carbon drawdown". Geobiology. 7 (2): 155–170. Bibcode:2009Gbio....7..155S. doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2009.00195.x. PMID 19323694. S2CID 13206343.
  4. ^ Weber, Ewald (2017). Invasive Plant Species of the World: A Reference Guide to Environmental Weeds. p. 65. ISBN 9781780643861.