NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

caroliniana

Fairy Moss, Mosquito fern

Fern/Clubmoss/Allies

Annual (Herbs Only)

Salviniaceae (Floating Fern Family)

0-1 ft.

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day, Less than 2 hours of sun per day

Aquatic

Coastal Plain

(GA, NC, SC, VA), Mt, Pd (NC, SC, VA): stagnant
waters of interdune ponds, limesink ponds, old millponds, beaver ponds, floodplain sloughs; uncommon (though often locally
abundant, rare in Mountains and Piedmont of Virginia only). June-September. Widespread in the se. United States, extending
irregularly north (partly from introductions) into s. New England and MN, and south into the tropics.

Nothing Specified

Fern Frond

Nothing Specified

Annual (Herbs Only)

Has some wildlife value

Suitable for home landscapes

S3: Vulnerable ^(*Key)

G5 - Secure ^(*Key)

Used in water gardens and bogs. Fixes nitrogen and used as a fertilizer and food for fish.
This plant has lacy, bright green fronds that turn reddish in full sun and during fall. Resembles duckweed.

Ribbit! This is a very small floating species that grows in dense patches. A given plant has several fronds in different directions, spreading radially.

Coastal NC

Larry Mellichamp

USDA PLANTS Database Record

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/azolla-caroliniana/
 

https://nc.audubon.org/700