In the summer sun, duckweed (Wolffia globosa) can be a menace. It grows so fast it covers a pond in a few days, blocking out the light for the life below. But it is this ability to multiply and its high nutritional value that has made it a potentially valuable food.
Although commonly eaten in Asia, where varieties of duckweed are also known as water lentils or watermeal, it has taken nearly 10 years for scientists to convince the European Food Safety Authority that it is a vegetable that is safe to eat.
