Duckweed - Very Promising

Its greatest potential, however, could lie in becoming a source of biomass for alternative fuel production. Because individual organisms generate new biomass at a rate faster than any other known flowering plant, duckweed could also do in a pinch as a ready source of high-protein feed for farm animals.

clipped from www.treehugger.com Though it may be a bit premature to heap too much praise upon duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) -- after all, relatively little is still known about its properties -- the early signs, at least according to a team of Rutgers scientists, seem very promising. A team of plant biologists from Rutgers' Waksman Institute of Microbiology have convinced the DOE to focus resources on the genomic sequencing of the diminutive aquatic plant, claiming it holds immeasurable potential for feeding the planet and fighting both pollution and climate change. Duckweed: a pollution fighting source of food and biofuel So what potential benefits could a better understanding of duckweed's genome yield? Scientists already know that duckweed can extract excess nitrates and phosphates from agricultural and municipal runoff, slow algal growth (thus putting a damper on eutrophication) and degrade toxic chemicals -- among other pollution-fighting functions.