Re: Marsilea quadrifolia .... a new plant!

["Robert H" <robertph3 at attbi_com>]

>>I've seen three
types in "Aquarium Plants - A Practical Guide"  Marsilea crenata, Marsilea
quadrifolia and Marsiela schelpinia.  They are all described (incorrectly
IMHO) as terrarium plants on page 205 directly over the notorious mondo
grass (Ophipogon sp.) <<

There are a few other species as well, one out of Florida is  varigated and
sold as an edge plant for ponds. Marselia is a bog plant. Its natural growth
is emmersed. The biggest market for the plant is pond use. The main problem
I had with it was it loses it's "4 leaf clover" underwater usually retaining
only one or two leafs per stem. It would also sometimes get rather tall, up
to 4".  I was disappointed with it because I wanted the four leaf clover
look. If you don't care about that, then I guess you won't be disappointed.
Mine also grew extremely slow, under 4 watts/gallon.

Robert Paul Hudson
http://www.aquabotanic.com