Azolla filiculoides (Common Mosquito Fern)
Credit: Forrest Freund
about the species
Azolla filiculoides is a small, free-floating aquatic fern from the order Salviniales found in relatively still waters, ponds, and lakes, both in the water and along its edges. These plants are found along the west coast of North America from northern British Columbia, into South America. Unlike other true ferns, Azolla and the other members of its order are heterosporous, producing two types of spore. They also fix nitrogen via symbiotic bacteria found within specialized pockets in their leaves, and have been used as a source of natural soil enrichment in water intensive agriculture such as rice paddies.
why species was selected
Azolla filiculoides is one of the most widespread members of its genus in the Americas. These plants are also ecologically and economically significant as nitrogen fixers, providing organically available nitrogen to not only natural systems, but to agricultural ones.
