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The flora of the Earth is so vast and diverse that one human imagination would not be enough to come up with some species. The trunks of giant sequoias rush into the sky, in the tropical forests the head is spinning from aromas and a riot of colors, and on the seabed, under a huge column of water, corals cling to stones.
Among the plant diversity of our planet, there are also very small species. A single such plant may even be invisible to the human eye, and only a whole cluster of such species is visible.
We have collected in this article ten species of the smallest plants in the world. Despite their size, each of them is indispensable for its ecosystem.
10 Algae
Algae – This is a large group of plants that differ in origin. They are united by the presence of chlorophyll and the ability to receive nutrition from light.
Algae live mainly in water or very humid environments, and they themselves cannot be divided into separate organs. Among these plants there are real giants, for example, kelp or brown algae, which can stretch up to 30-50 m, but there are also microscopic species several microns in size.
They share free-floating algae, which become noticeable when they grow in a colony (it is they who cause the “bloom” of reservoirs), benthic, which are attached to the bottom, or parasitic, they prefer other organisms. The role of algae is enormous, because they create about 80% of all organic matter on Earth.
9. Conophytum
In the deserts of South Africa you can see bowling plants. This is how it is translated from a mixture of Latin and Greek conophytum. They belong to the Aizaceae family and are leafy succulents, plants that have special tissues to store water. In the desert, this is as true as anywhere else.
They are two fleshy leaves fused together, have a spherical or heart-shaped shape, and a short stem is hidden underground. The color varies from pale green to brown, and the size varies from a few millimeters to 5-10 centimeters.
8. Gibbeum
Gibbeum – Another representative of the Aizaceae, growing in southern Africa, mainly in the Little Karoo desert. They are two fused leaves, which is why the locals come up with a variety of names for them: baby’s bottom, ostrich fingers, fish mouth and others.
The Latin name comes from the word “hump”. There are about 20 types of Gibbeum, but each of them blooms with very beautiful white, pink, purple or pale purple flowers.
The length of the leaves is about 1 cm, it can rarely reach up to 10 cm. Gibbeum is called a living stone, and it is very popular in cultivation and home cultivation.
7. Blossfeldia liliputana
Blossfeldia – a resident of South America, a representative of cacti. It was named after Harry Blossfeld, a traveler, explorer and botanist. The dark green balls that are visible above the ground are the stems of the plant, often flattened. There are no thorns or bumps on them, but there are white specks.
The buds appear at the very top of the stem, open with white flowers that bloom for up to 5 days. The diameter of each stem is 1-3 cm.
6. Moss
Moss – a huge and one of the oldest groups of plants, which includes 10 thousand species, united in 700 genera. Usually, individual stems of mosses are very small, do not exceed half a centimeter in length, and only certain species (usually underwater) can stretch up to half a meter.
A distinctive feature of mosses is the absence of roots, flowers and a conductive system. They reproduce by spreading spores. Mosses are distributed all over the planet and are able to survive even in the most unbearable conditions, for example, in Antarctica.
The minimum size of the moss is a few millimeters. It usually grows in dense groups, often in damp places or close to water, although aquatic species do not exist. Mosses not only love swamps, but also actively participate in waterlogging the area.
5. Gelksina
Gelksina (or soleirolia) is a creeping plant with small leaves, which belongs to the nettle family, but bears little resemblance to nettle itself. Gelksina grows in a tropical climate, on the Mediterranean coast, as well as in Corsica.
This plant spreads along the ground, on pancake stems there are groups of dark green leaves. Each leaf in diameter does not exceed 5 mm. Soleuropia loves a warm climate and shady places, so in nature you can find whole glades in the shade of trees, overgrown with an openwork carpet. Or stone fences sprinkled with small leaves.
Gelksina is very popular as a houseplant for its pretty appearance and relative ease of handling.
4. Duckweed
If you do not take care of your pond, one day you may find that it is covered with a dense green carpet. Looking closer, you can see a lot of tiny leaves. If you pull on it, you can find a long root that goes under the water. That’s what it is duckweed. It is distributed throughout the planet, loves both temperate and hot climates, but grows only in stagnant fresh water.
Duckweed blooms very rarely, and its flowers are small and inconspicuous. This plant is used in agriculture as feed for some animals, such as pigs or geese.
3. Nerter
Nerter known for its species at the time of fruiting. Then the elongated shiny green leaves cover the beads of bright red berries. It looks really very nice. Nerter belongs to the madder family and is a ground cover plant. Its very name comes from the Greek word meaning “small”.
It grows in the tropics and subtropics, is found in South America, South Asia, Oceania. Nerter’s leaves are very small, only half a centimeter in diameter, and since it covers the ground with a carpet, it is often confused with gelskin. But it is worth waiting for the appearance of berries, as everything falls into place.
2. wolfia rootless
In a warm climate, in the Mediterranean, South America, in southern Asia, in water bodies can be found rootless wolfia. This plant is so small that it is often not visible to the naked eye. Sometimes oval leaflets grow up to 1 mm. These green balls float on the surface of the water, and when adverse conditions occur, such as in winter, they sink to the bottom to rise when it gets warmer.
Wolffia feeds on nutrients dissolved in water and is almost constantly in a state of division. Wolffia was also found on the territory of Russia, for example, in the reservoirs of the Voronezh and Bryansk regions.
1. Wolfia globular
Wolfia globular – The smallest plant in the world. All representatives of the Wolf family are characterized by a tiny size, but the diameter of the spherical ranges from 100-200 micrometers to 0,5 mm. Floats on the surface of the water, near the shores. It prefers a warm climate, and its primary habitat is the Asian tropics and subtropics. From there it was brought to South and North America.
The plant is elongated leaves on which flowers appear. These flowers are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope, and the way they are pollinated and the formation of seeds is still being studied by scientists.