Azolla (common called mosquitofern, water fern, and fairy moss) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns in the family Salviniaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, having a significantly different appearance to other ferns and more resembling some mosses or even duckweeds. · This thick-living carpet is named mosquitofernplant because it repels mosquito attempts to lay eggs in the water. The mosquitoes may not like mosquitoferns, but the waterfowl certainly do, and, in fact, this plant is an important food source for them. mosquitofern, (genus Azolla), genus of six or seven species of aquatic ferns of the family Salviniaceae. Members of Azolla are distributed nearly worldwide but are most diverse in tropical regions. Mosquitoferns float on the surface of still, fresh waters, sometimes becoming stranded on muddy banks. Their name is an allusion to the fact that the ...See full list on britannica.comMosquito ferns are very small plants, often less than 2.5 cm (1 inch) long. The tiny leaves are in two alternating rows on either side of the stem and are divided into an upper green lobe and a lower white to transparent lobe. The sporangia (spore-producing structures) are enclosed in small, structurally complex, globose structures known as sporocarps, with separate sporocarps formed containing either numerous microspores or a single megaspore. Both types of spores are globose (tetrahedral), but an average megaspore is 20 or more times larger than a microspore. The highly reduced gametophytes (gamete-producing structures), which develop underwater, are mostly contained within the spore walls.Britannica QuizSee full list on britannica.comAzolla is one of the most important ferns in agriculture. More money has been spent on its study and more scientific papers have been published involving this genus than on any other fern. Long ago, farmers in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia discovered that rice fields in which mosquito ferns were released produced higher yields of grain. For centuries, families jealously guarded their individual strains of Azolla, keeping them alive in containers between plantings and inoculating the fields at the beginning of each crop cycle.The secret behind the use of mosquito fern as a “super fertilizer” is that within cavities of the green upper lobe of the leaves, there live colonies of a cyanobacterium, Anabaena azollae. These photosynthetic bacteria have the ability to transform atmospheric nitrogen into nitrate fertilizer. When individual plants of Azolla die, this nitrate fertilizer is released into the environment, where it becomes available to other plants. In addition to its use in rice fields, Azolla has been shown to benefit the cultivation of some other crops grown in paddies, such as taro. The plants have also been used in livestock and poultry feed.See full list on britannica.comMosquitofern is a native species and has some value as wildlife food and habitat. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, and ducks may eat the plants on occasion, and dense colonies provide habitat for some insect species. The mosquitofern is a free-floating, perennial aquatic fern. The aquatic plant is small, measuring only 3/8 "-1" in diameter. Mosquitofern is generally found in quiet water bodies protected from wind action. Eastern mosquitofern is a native annual aquatic plant in the Water-fern family (Salviniaceae). It is widespread in eastern North America and northern South America, growing in still or very slow-moving water, shallow ponds, ditches and sluggish streams. Each individual plant is 1-2 centimeter across, green tinged pink, orange or red at the edges, branching freely, and breaking into smaller sections as it grows. It is not tolerant of cold temperatures, and in temperate regions it largely dies back in winter, surviving by means of submerged buds. Mosquitofern is a native species and has some value as wildlife food and habitat. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, and ducks may eat the plants on occasion, and dense colonies provide habitat for some insect species. The mosquitofern is a free-floating, perennial aquatic fern. The aquatic plant is small, measuring only 3/8 "-1" in diameter. Mosquitofern is generally found in quiet water bodies protected from wind action. Eastern mosquitofern is a native annual aquatic plant in the Water-fern family (Salviniaceae). It is widespread in eastern North America and northern South America, growing in still or very slow-moving water, shallow ponds, ditches and sluggish streams. Each individual plant is 1-2 centimeter across, green tinged pink, orange or red at the edges, branching freely, and breaking into smaller sections as it grows. It is not tolerant of cold temperatures, and in temperate regions it largely dies back in winter, surviving by means of submerged buds.
