**3.13 Azolla**

Azolla is an aquatic and floating fern of the family Azollaceae. It contains 25–35% crude protein, 10–15% minerals and 7–10% amino acids, especially lysine [48]. Azolla forms a symbiotic with blue green algae which lives within its leaves. This relationship makes azolla as a beneficial source of protein, and can be fed safely to the farm animals [49]. It is recommended that azolla (*Azolla pinnata*) can be incorporated in poultry diet up to 5% with positive effect on their growth performance [49]. The limitation of using high levels of Azolla is its high level content [48].
