Edible Weeds: Azolla (Azolla species)
I'll be posting a semi-regular series on edible weeds in the future. Here's the first, Azolla.
Azolla is a common plant, sometimes decoration, oftentimes weed. 'Azolla' is a generic name for some seven species of aquatic fern.
In the right conditions, Azolla is a vigorous grower, forming a thick mat over the surface of small waterbodies such as ponds and dams. It can double its biomass in only a couple of days!
It can grow so thickly as to block out the light to other aquatic plants, literally shutting them out of life giving sunshine and physically restraining them from growth.
Azolla, as a genus, can survive in a wide range of pH, salinity and temperature.
On the positive side, Azolla has a high level of protein, higher than most stock feeds. This makes it an excellent additive to the diets of many homestead animals. Our chooks, for example, love the stuff. Azolla can also be dried, preserving many of its nutritional benefits for the colder weather.
Its nitrogen fixing ability and profuse growth makes this genus of fern an excellent green manure and composting plant. Once harvested, it doesn't take long for a new crop to grow.
Azolla absorbs nitrates from the water and can also concentrate soluble metals, dyes and pesticides as it absorbs them from the water. This makes using Azolla an early step in cleaning polluted water sources.
The ability to fix nitrogen in wet conditions makes Azolla species a useful substitute for legumes, which won't thrive or even grow in the wet.
All of this makes Azolla more than a decorative pond plant, you can grow it in small quantities as we do or grow masses of the stuff for major works in the garden or on the homestead.
Both pics taken by yours truly.
Find out more about edible weeds on our blog, Ligaya.
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