Friend or Foe?

Is the floating freshwater fern Azolla caroliniana — commonly called Carolina mosquito fern or fairy moss — the potential answer to global food insecurity or a possible threat to humanity? On the heels of a study published by researchers at Penn State on the plant's nutrition and digestibility, the team learned of concerns about the plant's potential toxin content.

The researchers subsequently joined an international effort to test Azolla. They found that it does not contain cyanotoxins, potent toxins produced by a type of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, associated with the plant.

The team published its findings in Plants.

"That finding suggests that Azolla is food-safe and has the potential to safely feed millions of people due to its rapid growth while free-floating on shallow freshwater without the need for nitrogen fertilizers," said Daniel Winstead, research technologist and lead author on the earlier study. He works in the labs of Michael Jacobson, professor of forest resources, and Francesco Di Gioia, associate professor of vegetable crop science.

—Jeff Mulhollem