ADVICE FROM OWLIE
My family and I just visited the Chino Creek Wetlands and
Educational Park. We had such a great time getting to see all the different
animals and are planning to revisit soon! While we were there, we noticed
something green floating on the water in some of the ponds. It looked like moss
or algae, but we weren’t sure of what it was. Any chance you could help us out?
Thanks Owlie!
Sincerely,
Keen on Green
A: Dear Keen on Green,
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed your visit! I can
definitely answer your question. What you saw in the water is called duckweed.
Duckweed is a type of aquatic plant that floats on or just beneath the surface
of still or slow-moving bodies of water. They are the smallest known type of
flowering plant, no more than ¼ of an inch long and reproduce by budding. Some
duckweed can also produce a specialized bud called a turion, causing the plant to
sink to the bottom when it’s cold and grow once again when it’s warm. This
explains why you only saw duckweed in some of the ponds and not all of them!
Duckweed is also really important to our wetlands. Waterfowl,
such as the ducks and birds at our park, love to eat it! Duckweed also helps to
purify the water by absorbing any excess nitrogen and phosphate and even prevents
algae growth – so our animals are swimming in some pretty clean water!
Talk to you soo(HOO)n!
Owlie