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Re: Flowering sword plant



On Mon, 9 Apr 2001, Vincent Chye wrote:

> Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately what is coming out of the plant does
> not have nodes for some reason. It has just grown right out of the
> water, and seems to look like a super large grass seed like thing...

It probably will turn out to be a flower spike.  On E. cordifolius the
spike extends to the first joint before you see the later joints.  Up to
the point where the joints start spreading apart it does look a bit like a
thick grass stalk.

> Its definitely not a leaf. BTW this plant is big, and getting bigger. It
> has been growing emersed for several months now, and the leaves keep
> getting larger and taller. It is now up to 18 inches above the height of
> the tank. I should really never have let it go emersed... I dont have a
> key so i cannot identify it.

That's huge!  I wonder what species it is.  I think E. horizontalis has
cordate leaves and gets really big.  There are at least one or two other
species that get as large.

> I have had tropica and normal swords throw out those stem like internode
> things where the plantlets develop, but i never saw flowers... With
> them, there were definitely small roots while the plantlets were
> developing. I dont know, maybe i'm thinking flowers in the conventional
> sense, perhaps they look different? Plus, all the swords i have
> propagated so far have had the plantlet stems completely submersed...

They're very conventional flowers, but they only develop on emersed
stalks.  If you float the flower/plantlet stock on a smaller sword like E.
bleheri then the joints that are at the water surface will sometimes
develop flowers above the surface, otherwise you never see flowers and the
plantlets develop roots rather quickly.

> > With this sword, i will be interested to see what develops. Have you
> guys seen anubias flower buds? This looks a little like it..

Echinodorus flowers don't look anything like anubias flowers.  That makes
me wonder even more what you might have.

> On a side note, the plant's roots have grown to overtake one whole half
> of my 6 foot tank. The other day i tried to shift it a few inches, the
> whole gravel bed came up with it...:( I cannot believe how big it is..
> Might try it in a pond in summer:P

Pulling that plant out will certainly change your aquarium a lot.


Roger Miller