Warriewood Wetlands Plants
Spirodela Pusilla
Small Duckweed
Duckweed makes a green carpet
on the water.
| DESCRIPTION:
A free floating plant which often
forms a mat of green on the
surface of backwaters and lagoons.
|
HABITAT: Ponds, lagoons and slow moving streams.
DISTRIBUTION: Widespread from coast to mountains. Common in
Georges river south of Liverpool. Also occurring north coast, south
coast, southern tablelands,Western slopes, south-western plains and Vic.
FLOWERING: October-February, but rarely observed.
INTERESTING FACTS: It is interesting that it floats on water.
We emailed Valda Dedman of the Geelong Field Naturalists Club and
asked :
We have looked in our library and cannot find out whether frogs eat
duckweed. Do you know?
Valda replied :
Frogs use their sight to find food and, except for the cane toad, will only
eat food that is alive and moves - insects, spiders and other micro-fauna,
as well as smaller frogs and reptiles. Most frogs use long sticky tongues
to capture their food. The tongue is attached to the front of the jaw and
is flicked forward so that the sticky surface lands on the prey. The
tongue and prey are then drawn into the mouth (buccal cavity). All of this
takes only about two seconds.
Frogs do have teeth but they are not used in the eating process. Instead,
the eyes of the frog retreat into the buccal cavity, partially crushing the
prey and moving it to the back of the cavity ready for swallowing. Frogs
in turn become food for other animals such as wading birds, larger frogs
and tortoises.
Source: Gould League of Victoria Photocopy Sheet 3.
We thanked her very much and asked "What about tadpoles?"
Valda replied :
Tadpoles are vegetarians for most of their lives and probably would eat
duckweed or bits of floating broken-off vegetation. But just before
metamorphosing they feed on animal matter.
They have comb-like teeth which surround an upper and lower beak.
When a tadpole feeds it opens its mouth wide so that the teeth are
brought forward and scrape against the food. The beak is used to tear up
larger pieces of food. Tadpoles are also filter feeders. Microscopic food
particles are taken in through the gills with water and then digested. So
nothing is as simple as it seems at first.
Bibliography :
Native Plants Of The Sydney District
By Alan Fairley and Philip Moore
ISBN: 0 86417 261 3
Gould League of Victoria Photocopy Sheet 3.
Research by Jade and Sonya 5F
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Elanora Heights Primary School Computer Co-ordinator : 
Judith Bennett
This page was last modified on 25th October, 1998
