WOLFFIA-SMALLEST FLOWER ON EARTH

The plant WOLFFIA, more commonly known as Asian watermeal, is so small that to the naked eye it is impossible to tell if it has flowered. It measures 0.1-0.2 mm in diameter and floats on water; it can usually be found in quiet streams and ponds.

Once the green pod shaped plant has grown flowers it will show a slight depression with either a green or white oval within it, it does not have petals. This summer around 40 per cent of the plants being kept at the Tsukuba botanical garden have bloomed.These aquatic plants resemble specks of cornmeal floating on the water. Wolffia species are free-floating thalli, green or yellow-green, and without roots. The flower is produced in a depression on the top surface of the plant body. It has onestamen and one pistil. Individuals often float together in pairs or form floating mats with related plants. Most species have a very wide distribution across several continents.