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Re: Crypts and Chains(swords)

> I have two plant varieties that consistently get bigger than I *thought*
> their species were supposed to get.

So did Jack:)
> 
> First is E. tenellus.  I have two varieties.  One is the small, reddish
> plant pictured in Amano's books.  The other is a narrow-leafed green
> plant that get's larger.  In fact, *way* larger.  The plants I pulled
> out of my 55 today were 8 inches high with leaves over 10 inches long.
> They were reaching for the light a little, but I have the same plants in
> other tanks where they get good light and consistently grow to a height
> of 5-6 inches. I also have E. quadricostatus.  E. quad. is about the
> same height, but has wider leaves.

They will grow lower if you have more light, less shaded, same is true for a
number of plants. If you had say 4 watts a gallon or so in a 18inch deep
tank they would stay fairly short, perhaps 4 inches high. The redder "micro"
even less. It seems to get about 4 max at lower lighting but the other does
get tall. The micro is not commercially available so this is seldom seen so
far. A number plant folks have it here in the USA. I think Neil brought some
back from Japan. 

>  It's also not a sagittaria; I've had
> dwarf sag before and their roots are different.

Tips of the leaves are different also. Sags are/tend to be more blunt.
> 
> Is this relatively large, narrow-leafed chain sword really E. tenellus,
> or could it be some other species?  Rataj and Horeman describe an "E.
> angustifolius" that sounds like this big tenellus.

See Neil's article in PAM. It gives a good overview of these groups and
such. 
> 
> Second is Cryptocoryne "willisii".  I thought this plant was a small,
> docile foreground plant.

If it's the real C x willisii is only 2 inches or so tall. The C x willisii
lucens is about 2 times bigger but very close.

> Today I tore out my entire Frankenstein's
> monster of a stand and replanted just a few individuals.  The plants
> were as much as 10 inches high and varied in color from light green to
> bronze.  The leaf blades are narrow and lanceolate with slightly
> undulate margins.  The petioles were about as long or slighly longer
> than the blades.  The roots were a white, brittle and tangled mess.
> Plantlets arose from the base of the larger plants and from runners that
> extended as much as 18 inches across the tank.  All in all it looks a
> bit like C. wendtii's little brother, but I've never seen C. wendtii put
> out long runners.

Doesn't sound anything like it.
Some very slight color in high light but I doubt this is the case here. I'd
go with your wendtii or perhaps walkeri grouping. C x willisii stays green.
Put it out in good light and see if it colors up.
Regards, 
Tom Barr