Azolla pinnataR.Br.

Ferny AzollaMosquito FernWater Velvetfeathered mosquitofern

WFO wfo-0001107239 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Azolla pinnata, photographed by Justine Faure
fig. a Justine Faure, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-09 / obs. 205707341
Azolla pinnata, photographed by chiuluan
fig. b chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 193791402
Azolla pinnata, photographed by chiuluan
fig. c chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 193779159
Azolla pinnata, photographed by chiuluan
fig. d chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 193788379
Azolla pinnata, photographed by chiuluan
fig. e chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 189042731
Azolla pinnata, photographed by Joe Dillon
fig. f Joe Dillon, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 174518063
Azolla pinnata, photographed by Lek Khauv
fig. g Lek Khauv, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 157253867
Azolla pinnata, photographed by Nick Swanson
fig. h Nick Swanson, CC0 1.0 / obs. 144818451

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 65 botanical countries

Regions where Azolla pinnata is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, DR Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New Caledonia AngolaBeninBotswanaBurundiCameroonChadDR CongoGabonGambiaGhanaIvory CoastKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastJapanManchuriaTaiwanAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaVictoriaWestern AustraliaNew Caledonia KoreaNansei-shoto
Native distribution of Azolla pinnata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Chad CHA
DR Congo ZAI
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Ivory Coast IVO
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Manchuria CHM
Nansei-shoto NNS
Taiwan TAI
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Victoria VIC
Western Australia WAU
New Caledonia NWC PACIFIC

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,236 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 4.1 °C 9.3 °C 19.0 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 21.1 °C 28.3 °C 34.0 °C
Annual rainfall 425 mm 1,133 mm 2,883 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 28 mm 143 mm 347 mm

It is barely found anywhere that freezes. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,236 research-grade observations of Azolla pinnata that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 11 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Azolla africana Desv.
  • Azolla decomposita Zoll.
  • Azolla guineensis Schumach.
  • Azolla imbricata (Roxb.) Nakai
  • Azolla imbricata var. imbricata
  • Azolla imbricata var. prolifera Y.X.Lin
  • Azolla imbricata var. sempervirens Y.X.Lin
  • Azolla pinnata var. africana (Desv.) Baker
  • Azolla pinnata var. imbricata (Roxb. ex Griff.) Bonap.
  • Rhizosperma pinnata (R.Br.) Meyen
  • Salvinia imbricata Roxb.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.