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1. 1 2022-05-11T11:25:35-07:00 Akshay Chellappa 76da17495df94c6c8bc0710f8fd207dfb8b5b6e1 Wolffia Globosa: The Super Small Superfood Brian Estarella-Murphy 95 Wolffia globosa, which is commonly known as mankai, Asian watermeal, and duckweed, is a species of flowering plant that is currently considered to be the smallest known flowering plant! Wolffia globosa is a genus from the lemnaceae family native to Asia as well as pacific coasting countries. Wolffia grows in groups on the surface of lakes and large bodies of calm water, ponds, and even marshes together with other aquatic plants and life. Due to its rapid growth rate and the relative ease at which it grows on calm bodies of water, Wolffia globosa was traditionally only harvested, and not cultivated by indigenous peoples. Wolffia was initially discovered by William Roxburg, a Scottish botanist and surgeon practicing in parts of India in the late 1780s to early 1800s, in 1832. In 1984, Wayne P. Armstrong, nicknamed “Mr. Wolffia”, became the first individual to discover Wolffia Globosa in California while he was studying duckweeds from a lake nearby his lab near the San Dieguito river (Armstrong, 2021). Wolffia globosa is an extremely versatile plant. Initially, it was used by indigenous peoples as a protein packed vegetable, and it is still being used in traditional Thai cuisine. Due to the extremely fast growth rate of Wolffia globosa, indigenous peoples were also able to repurpose mankai, using it as feed for their livestock. Currently, Wolffia globosa has found itself at the center of superfood trends due to its phenomenal nutritional benefits. Outside of the culinary world, Wolffia globosa can be found at the center of research regarding new biofuels and potential bioremediation strategies to combat pollution. By Akshay Chellappa, Brian Estarella-Murphy, #Mankai plain 2022-05-29T21:27:03-07:00 Brian Estarella-Murphy 831eaad1e3a4865984bec7368e88a589ef996e0a