Entomology: Greek azo - to dry; ollyo - to kill; referring to the killing of plants by drought.Greek azo - to dry; ollyo - to kill; referring to the killing of plants by drought.

Leaves small in 2 alternating rows on the upper side of the stem, each leaf being divided into 2 lobes, water-repelling. Spore-bearing bodies (sporocarps) of 2 sizes, containing spores of different sizes (propagation is generally rapid by fragmentation) are borne in the leaf axils on the undersurface of the plant on the lower leaf lobes.

Often forming a rose-coloured brown mat on still water and open situations.

Cosmopolitan in tropics and temperate regions. 6 species, 2 in Australia and Victoria.

Source: Spencer, R. (1995). Azollaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 1, Ferns, conifers & their allies. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

Updated by: Val Stajsic, March 2018