What is the smallest flower in the world?
Water-meal, or Wolffia globosa
Water-meal is one of the duckweeds in the family Lemnaceae that contains some 38 species of the smallest and simplest flowering plants. The plant itself averages 1/42” long and 1/85” wide or about the size of one candy sprinkle. It can weigh about 1/190,000 of an ounce, equivalent to two grains of table salt. They are very hard to see! Imagine if you tried to fill a thimble with them, it is estimated that you would need some 5000 plants!
Each Wolffia flower consists of a single pistil and stamen; it also produces the world’s smallest fruit, called a utricle. The plant is found in quiet freshwater lakes or marshes with species worldwide. Since the plants have no roots, they can easily float on the surface of the water, where they resemble cornmeal. Water-meal is sometimes used in cold-water aquaria since it is easy to propagate.
How to find the cache
The listed coordinates are not where the cache is located. To find the actual GZ you will need to solve this puzzle. The 1st line will give you the last three digits of the latitude, the 2nd the last three digits of longitude
Once you have these, add them to N 43° 42.??? W 079° 45.???
The Flower City Trail is a series of geocaches along Williams Parkway in Brampton, stretching from Mississauga Road in the west to Humberwest Parkway on the east side of the city. Thirty seven caches, all starting with "FCT" in their title, have been placed for you to find by these Brampton cachers: DougyB, Chris Baker, K-Pom, magily, mrslmojo, The Robson Family. We wanted to bring you a fun series of caches that would delight you, perhaps challenge you, and give you some insights into what makes Brampton such a special place to live.
For more information on the official Brampton Flower City story, please click to see The City of Brampton Flower City Strategy and The Flower City Story.
Whether you walk, ride, skate, or drive, we hope that you enjoy this series of caches, and we look forward to seeing your log entries.