Azolla pinnata
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Species name: Azolla pinnata
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- Species identity and nomenclature
- Current Wikipedia entry
- Binomial Classification
- Morphological features
- Habitat and Geographical Spread
- Maps
- Medicinal Importance
- Cultural significance
- Commercial importance and cultivation
- Summary of PubMed articles
- Summary of NCBI molecular data
- External Links
- Images and Videos
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Names of users who have contributed to this species page | Gauravm | |
| Date on which this page was first created | 2010/05/12 | |
| This page was last modified on: | 23 November 2010 03:59:22 | |
| Name of the species | Azolla pinnata | |
| ID on Encyclopedia of Life | 596873 | |
| Synonyms | Please check Binomial Classification section for synonyms. | |
| Common English Names | Mosquito fern, Duckweed fern, Fairy moss, Water fern | |
| Common Hindi Names | ||
| Common Indian names | ||
| Origins/Meanings of the common names |
Taxonomy from Encyclopedia of Life
If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID
{{#EoLOnlyHierarchy:596873}}
Taxonomy filled in form
Click here for the PDF of the phylogeny
| Taxon | Value |
|---|---|
| Regnum (Kingdom) | Plantae |
| Division | Pteridophyta |
| Class | Pteridopsida |
| Order | Salviniales |
| Family | Azollaceae |
| Genus | Azolla |
| Source of data | ' |
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Based on classification
More details can be found in the Binomial Classification section.
Morphology from Encyclopedia of Life
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{{#EoLOnlyDescription:596873}}
General morphology
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| General morphological features of the plant | The plant is essentially annual, but sometimes perennating. Azolla floats on the surface of water by means of numerous, small, closely-overlapping scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water. They form a symbiotic relationship with the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae, which fixes atmospheric nitrogen, giving the plant access to the essential nutrient. This has led to the plant being dubbed a "super-plant", as it can readily colonise areas of freshwater, and grow at great speed - doubling its biomass every two to three days. The only known limiting factor on its growth is phosphorus, another essential mineral. An abundance of phosphorus, due for example to eutrophication or chemical runoff, often leads to Azolla blooms."The plant is essentially annual, but sometimes perennating. Azolla floats on the surface of water by means of numerous, small, closely-overlapping scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water. They form a symbiotic relationship with the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae, which fixes atmospheric nitrogen, giving the plant access to the essential nutrient. This has led to the plant being dubbed a "super-plant", as it can readily colonise areas of freshwater, and grow at great speed - doubling its biomass every two to three days. The only known limiting factor on its growth is phosphorus, another essential mineral. An abundance of phosphorus, due for example to eutrophication or chemical runoff, often leads to Azolla blooms." cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. | Wiki |
| Seed dispersal mechanism | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bloom type | Annual, Perennial | Cook |
| Life cycle of the plant |
How to identify this species
For a detailed description, refer to the General Morphology details above
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Type of plant | Algae | |
| Plant height | ||
| Flower color | ||
| Flower shape | ||
| Floral symmetry | ||
| Phyllotaxy of leaves | ||
| Leaf shape | ||
| Is the leaf petiolated or sessile? | ||
| Is the leaf simple or compound? |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not Evaluated | EoL |
| Indian States in which the species has been documented | Assam,Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Karnataka,Kerala,Maharashtra,Manipur,Orissa,Rajasthan,Sikkim,Tamil Nadu,Tripura,Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal | Cook |
| Locations at which the species has been documented | ||
| Biotic zones inhabited | Northeastern Himalayas, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, Central Deccan Plateau, East Coast, West Coast, Indo-Gangetic Plain | Cook |
| Details about the habitat | A. pinnata is a wetland, aquatic species. found freely floating on water, in inundated rice fields, canals and ponds. Azolla cannot survive winters with prolonged freezing, so is often grown as an ornamental plant at high latitudes where it cannot establish itself firmly enough to become a weed. It is not tolerant to salinity; normal plants can't survive in greater than 1-1.6‰, and even conditioned organisms die in over 5.5% salinity.
Other Azolla species are also serious weeds in many parts of the world, entirely covering some bodies of water. The myth that no mosquito can penetrate the coating of fern to lay its eggs in the water gives the plant its common name "mosquito fern". |
Brinkhuis, Mosfern |
| Is this species native to India? | No | Wiki |
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Sub-Himalayan regions? | No | Cook |
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Western Ghats? | No | Cook |
| Is the species indigenous/endemic to Eastern Ghats? | No | Cook |
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Plant is not native or native status not filled in |
If no maps are displayed below, it means the required data is absent. Click on "Edit with form" button on top of the page to add this information.
{{#generateMap:Assam,Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Karnataka,Kerala,Maharashtra,Manipur,Orissa,Rajasthan,Sikkim,Tamil Nadu,Tripura,Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal|Azolla_pinnata_brahma.svg|align=center}}
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Does this species have any medicinal use? |
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Other plants of the same family having medicinal use: |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| General types of ailments this species is used for treating | ||
| Specific ailments for which the species is used | ||
| Medicinal systems which use this plant | ||
| Details of Medicinal use | ||
| Parts of the plant used for treatment | ||
| Names of some medicinal active compounds in this plant, if known. | ||
| Details of the active chemical compounds found in this plant | ||
| Is the molecular basis of the medicinal action known? | ||
| Details of molecular basis of action | ||
| Are the toxic effects of consumption of this plant known? | ||
| Details of the toxic effects of the plant species | ||
| Have there been validation/clinical studies related to this plant? | ||
| Details of the clinical studies related to the plant species |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Is this plant/plant-derived product used in food preparations? | ||
| Part(s) of the plant used in the food preparations | ||
| Details of use in food preparations | ||
| Does this species have any religious significance? | ||
| Religions which mention/give significance to this species | ||
| Religious occasions | ||
| Details of religious use |
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Is this plant cultivated commercially in India? | Yes | |
| Uses for which the plant is commercially cultivated | Animal consumption, Agricultural use | FAO,Pillai |
| Plant parts of commercial value | ||
| Products where this plant is used | User-reported | |
| Description of use | Azolla has been used, for at least one thousand years, in rice paddies as a companion plant, because of its ability to both fix nitrogen, and block out light to prevent any competition from other plants, aside from the rice, which is planted when tall enough to poke out of the water through the azolla layer. When rice paddies are flooded in the spring, they can be inoculated with Azolla, which then quickly multiplies to cover the water, suppressing weeds. The rotting plant material releases nitrogen to the rice plants, providing up to nine tonnes of protein per hectare per year.
The nitrogen fixing ability of Azolla is due to the cyanobacteria in the plant. It can replace 25-30 kg nitrogen per hectare as applied through ammonium sulfate. |
FAO,Pillai |
| States where this plant is cultivated commercially | ||
| Best period for planting this plant | ||
| Best period for harvesting this plant | ||
| Method of propagation | ||
| Water requirement of this plant | ||
| Pests and Diseases affecting this plant during cultivation | ||
| Other considerations while cultivating this plant |
Pubmed Word cloud
This word cloud is obtained using the tool LigerCat by searching the Pubmed database. LigerCat builds the cloud from the most relevant Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms. Each term's relative size indicates how many times it appears in the PubMed search results. Click on a term to access the full LigerCat cloud, with live PubMed search capabilities. LigerCat has been developed for the Biology of Aging Project.
The page may take some time to load since LigerCat is searching the entire PubMed database and sending us the results in real time.
- If there is an error message below, it means that there is no retrievable information available on NCBI
- If the number of nucleotide sequences is less than 100, very little genomic work has been done on this species. A respectable number of nucleotide sequences is above 10000.
- Most of the nucleotide sequences may come from three sources:
- Studies on single genes, where people try to sequence genes such as some specific dehydrogenases important,say, for tannin production
- Sequences of Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer, whose sequence is used for generating molecular phylogenetic trees to establish species relationships
- Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) which can tell about which genes are present and expressed in the species at a particular time in the given tissue
{{#queryDB:taxonomy |Azolla pinnata }}
| Parameter | Value(s) | References See complete references in the References section at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Details of modern scientific knowledge available for this species | ||
| Are herbarium specimen available for this species? | ||
| Institutes having herbarium samples |
If nothing is displayed in this section, it means the EoL ID has not been defined. Please click on Edit with form button on top and follow the instructions for filling in the EoL ID
{{#EoLOnlyAdditionalInfo:596873}}
Click here to go to Google Images
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References
Brinkhuis (Journal) : Brinkhuis et al (2006),Episodic fresh surface waters in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, Nature:441(NA):7093. doi=10.1038/nature04692
Cook (Book) : Christopher D.K. Cook (1996),', ISBN: 019854821
Pillai (Web): Azolla – A sustainable feed substitute for livestock, Accessdate=2010-06-21
FAO (Web): FAO Figures, Accessdate=2010-06-21
Wiki (Web): [{{{url}}} Wikipedia entry on Azolla], Accessdate=2010-06-21
EoL (Web): Encyclopedia of Life entry on Azolla pinnata, Accessdate=2010-06-21
Mosfern (Web): Mosquito Fern, Accessdate=2007-11-10
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