Wolffia globosa is the smallest flowering plant on Earth, roughly the size of a single grain of salt, yet it manages to produce a fruit that is technically edible.

A closer look

Wolffia globosa is the smallest flowering plant on Earth, roughly the size of a single grain of salt, yet it manages to produce a fruit that is technically edible. Rootless and floating casually on the surfaces of quiet ponds, this microscopic botanical overachiever contains as much protein by weight as a soybean. It reproduces by essentially cloning itself, popping out new tiny green spheres so fast that it can double its population in just two days. Humans are out here spending thousands of hours trying to optimize agricultural yields while a plant the size of a pixel is aggressively conquering water bodies through sheer exponential math. Perhaps instead of terraforming Mars with giant greenhouse domes, we should just drop a handful of these overachieving green specks into a puddle and watch them shame modern farming techniques!