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Re: Nomaphila corymbosa 'compacta'
On Wed, 13 Feb 2002, Naomi wrote:
> Now on to the new... I bought some planties a few days ago. YAY! One was
> "C. Tropica," which I'm assuming is the same as C. wendtii 'tropica'. I'm
> afraid I purchased the other on a whim. In the store, they were labelled
> "Nomaphila corymbosa 'compacta'." I've been told that "Nomaphila" is just
> another name for "Hygrophila"; I think the reason why this store uses the
> former nomenclature is to avoid hassles with the Dept. of Agriculture. Most
> of the Hygrophila spp are banned, here, and I'm sure just having the genus
> name on the packing list would be enough to send up a red flag.
It's hard to say what's right as far as names is concerned, but I suppose
this is a variety of what I've long called Hygrophila corymbosa.
> Anyway, I'm not very familiar with Hygrophilas, and this one has a
> particularly curious look to it. There's a "tuft" of healthy-looking leaves
> growing from the tip of what looks almost like a rhizome. And there are a
> few stringy roots emerging from close to where the leaves begin. But the
> rest of the rhizome-looking thingie is just sort of there... It almost
> looks like a plant on stilts.
That sounds like a piece of stem. H. corymbosa sprouts roots from nodes
in the lower part of it's stem, above the soil line. The roots reach down
to the substrate and the section of stem between the sprouting nodes and
the substrate usually rots away. It leaves the entire plant "on stilts".
The plant will also put up new shoots from the same nodes that produce
roots.
> So when I was getting ready to put it in my
> tank, I kind of stood there in confusion, holding the plant for a minute or
> two, trying to decide if I should cut the "stilt" or leave it on in its
> entirety and stick it in the substrate. To be safe, I left it on and
> decided to come here and ask. What should I do? It's longer than the depth
> of my substrate.
You can probably trim the roots if you need to. Otherwise, just plant it
in the normal fashion; leaves up and roots down with most of the stem
above the substrate.
> Also, would anybody know how big this plant can get? The word 'compacta'
> gave me the impression that it's not going to get too tall, but I guess
> it's all relative... "Compacta" compared to *what*?
I haven't grown the compact variety, but the non-compact plant is large.
Mine have submersed leaves that get 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. The
plant likes to grow emersed and can get more than 4 feet tall.
I really like H. corymbosa, but it takes some care. In this case being
"compact" might still get you a large plant that needs a lot of trimming.
Roger Miller