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Re: Micranthemoides
I made the original post. I believe it is the first plant you
described, Hemianthus micranthemoides. I identified it out of
Barron's Aquatic Plants Manual where it is listed as Micranthemum.
Cathy Hartland
> Someone mentioned using Micranthemoides as a carpet plant the other day.
> I want to take a moment a try to figure out which plant we're talking
> about. There is a small plant from SE USA and Cuba with whorls of 3-4
> pointed ovate leaves which looks a bit like a star from a distance.
> This is identified as Hemianthus micranthemoides in Baensch Atlas vol.
> 1, Kasselmann's book and Pablo Tepoot's new book. Baensch lists a
> common name of "Pearlweed." It does indeed cover the gravel quickly and
> will grow both horizontally and vertically. It is a robust and lovely
> little plant with many uses. I have used it as ground cover and also let
> it grow to 20 inches in height! Amano's books appear to routinely
> "misidentify" this plant as Micranthemum micranthemoides. I had a hard
> time noticing this, perhaps because I didn't realize how small this
> plant really is in the pictures of Amano's tanks.
>
> There is another plant named Micranthemum umbrosum, also from the SE
> USA, with opposite roundish paired leaves which are not pointed. I have
> no experience with this plant, but it looks (from the pictures) like it
> grows quite similarly to H. micranthemoides. I gather that these two
> plants were at one time regarded as member of the same genus, but no
> longer.
>
> Have I got this right? Perhaps the original poster will tell us which
> plant s/he was referring to.
>
> Regards, Steve Dixon in San Francisco