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Re:banana plant losing its tubers
- To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
- Subject: Re:banana plant losing its tubers
- From: Paul Krombholz <krombhol at teclink_net>
- Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 23:02:20 -0500
- In-reply-to: <200305271103.h4RB3nQp028654@otter.actwin.com>
- References: <200305271103.h4RB3nQp028654@otter.actwin.com>
* From: Kirk Melton <triax at bellsouth_net>
I have had a banana plant growing in my aquarium for about a year
now. Recently though, it lost all of its tubers. The plant seems to
be doing well, has a well developed root system, and 4 very bright
green leaves. Periodically it will send up a long stem to the
surface that winds up looking like a lily pad. It doesn't seem like
it's dying, but, I was wondering if the little "bananas" will ever
grow back? I didn't plant them in the gravel - I had the plant
anchored to the gravel via a rock and piece of string. The plant
developed roots and anchored itself after a while.
Those tubers are food storage organs, and the little banana plant as
you bought it is a sort of dissemination form---a method of
vegetative propagation. The stored food has pretty much the same
function as the stored food in a seed. it allows the little plant to
get off to a rapid start and get some leaves up to where the light is
good once it gets rooted. Since your plant is well established, the
little tubers, whose food supply is exhausted, have fallen off. With
good light your plant may produce more vegetative propagation forms
with their own little tubers, but it won't grow any more for itself.
Aponogeton undulatus reproduces in a similar way. It produces what
appears to be a flower stalk, but, instead of producing any flowers,
two to four little plantlets grow and after a month or two they have
developed pea-sized tubers and they detach. They float for a few
weeks, but eventually sink and get rooted.
--
Paul Krombholz taking a day or two off in sunny central Mississippi