Spirodela punctata(G.Mey.) C.H.Thomps.

intermediate duckweed

WFO wfo-0000313529 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Spirodela punctata, photographed by Lisa Bennett
fig. a Lisa Bennett, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-01 / obs. 194570670
Spirodela punctata, photographed by naturewatchwidow
fig. b naturewatchwidow, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192549792
Spirodela punctata, photographed by Leila Dasher
fig. c Leila Dasher, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 193003901
Spirodela punctata, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. d Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 191023509
Spirodela punctata, photographed by Ryan Watson
fig. e Ryan Watson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 183961525
Spirodela punctata, photographed by Joe Dillon
fig. f Joe Dillon, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 182669772
Spirodela punctata, photographed by Richard Fuller
fig. g Richard Fuller, CC0 1.0 / obs. 78674339
Spirodela punctata, photographed by Bruce Calvert
fig. h Bruce Calvert, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 8720270

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 24 botanical countries

Regions where Spirodela punctata is native: Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Chile Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Leeward Is., Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, Windward Is. Argentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestArgentina SouthBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralChile CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaEcuadorEl SalvadorPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameUruguayVenezuela Leeward Is.Windward Is.
Native distribution of Spirodela punctata, 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
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Argentina South AGS
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Chile Central CLC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Leeward Is. LEE
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Windward Is. WIN

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.

Also published as 5 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.

  • Landoltia punctata (G.Mey.) Les & D.J.Crawford
  • Lemna biperforata W.D.J.Koch
  • Lemna punctata G.Mey.
  • Spirodela biperforata W.Koch
  • Spirodela intermedia W.Koch

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. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol SPIN8. public domain. 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.