Roots shorter than 15 cm, tip mostly rounded; sheath not winged. Stipes white, small, often decaying. Fronds floating, 1 or 2--few, coherent in groups, obovate, scarcely gibbous, flat, 1--4 mm, 1--1.5 times as long as wide, margins entire; veins 3, greatest distance between lateral veins near or distal to above middle; papillae distinct on midline of upper surface (apical papilla scarcely larger than others); lower surface often red (more intensely so than on upper), coloring beginning at attachment point of root, upper surface (especially near apex) sometimes with red spots; air spaces to 0.3 mm; turions sometimes present, rootless, olive to brown, 0.8--1.6 mm diam., sinking to bottom. Flowers: ovaries 1-ovulate, utricular scale with narrow opening at apex. Fruits 0.5--0.6 mm, not winged. Seeds with 30--60 indistinct ribs, staying within fruit wall after ripening. 2n = 40, 42 (G), 50, 80. Flowering (occasional) summer. Mesotrophic to --eutrophic, quiet waters, in continental, temperate regions; 0--3700 m; St. Pierre and Miquelon; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Conn., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Tex., Utah, Vt., Wash., W. Va., Wis., Wyo.; Mexico (Baja California); Eurasia. I know of no specimens of Lemna turionifera from Maine, New HampshireSt. Pierre and Miquelon, or from New Jersey, but the species is to be expected there..

Plant: small aquatic plant Leaves: FRONDS floating on the water's surface, single or 2 to a few cohering in small groups, obovate, 1-4 mm long, 1-1.5 times as long as wide, flat, scarcely gibbous, without a green stalk but with a very small white stipe that often decays; margins entire; nerves 3, the greatest distance between the laterals near or above the middle; papillae distinct on midline, the apical papilla not larger than the others); upper surface (especially near the apex) sometimes with red spots; lower surface often red colored, the red coloring beginning at attachment point of the root; largest air spaces up to 0.3 mm long Flowers: occasional, 1-ovulate, the small utricular scale with a narrow opening at the top Fruit: 0.5-0.6 mm long, not winged. Seeds: with 30-60 indistinct ribs Misc: Mesotrophic to eutrophic, quiet waters; 1500-2700 m (5000-9000 ft); Jun-Aug Notes: root up to 15 cm long, the sheath unwinged, the tip mostly rounded; turions sometimes present, small, rootless, olive to brown REFERENCES: Landolt, Elias. 1992. Lemnaceae. Ariz.-Nev. Acad. Sci. 26(1)2.