Indian water lover
| Indian water lover | ||||||||||||
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Indian water lover |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Hygrophila polysperma | ||||||||||||
| T.Anderson |
The Indian water friend ( Hygrophila polysperma ) is a marsh plant from the acanthus family (Acanthaceae). It plays a role in the aquarium hobby , where it is one of the most frugal and enduring aquarium plants.
description
The Indian water lover has prostrate or upright rungs. Under water it is between 15 and 50 centimeters high. The stem is between one and two millimeters thick and bare. The leaves are crosswise opposite and either have a short stalk or sit directly on the stem. The leaf color and shape are variable. The shape of the leaves depends on the influence of breeding. Wild forms have rather narrow elliptical leaves; some cultivated forms have narrow-leaved growth forms. This leaf shape also occurs in the closely related willow-leaved water friend .
The color of the crosswise opposite leaves depends on the substrate. Plants on nutrient-poor subsoil are light green. Plants that stand on clayey-loamy soil can have a reddish-brownish color, especially on the underside. In plants, as bunches for planting of aquariums is purchased, you can watch the change of leaf color within days. If the aquarium floor is well fertilized, the newly sprouted leaves are brown-reddish in color.
In good light conditions, the plant branches abundantly. You can then develop a very dense population.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 32.
distribution
The Indian water lover comes from India and Bhutan . It is also originally found in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, China and Taiwan. It was also introduced into Mexico and is one of the neophytes there, as well as in Texas and Florida . Nothing is known about the natural water values under which the Indian water friend thrives. In Mexico it has so far mainly been found in canals in which the water has a very high pH value . There it grows semi-emersed, i.e. This means that only parts of the plant are in the water.
Aquaristics
The Indian water friend is one of the fast-growing plants that is recommended both to beginning aquarists and for the initial planting of aquariums. Since it is often offered in bundles , it is relatively cheap to buy. As a rule, several shoots that can be planted individually are sold in bundles. Badly rooted sprouts often sprout again. They can be attached to the ground with planting needles. In this way, larger aquarium areas can be greened quickly.
It can also cope with a wide range of different water values, temperatures and lighting conditions. Even if it obviously prefers hard water in the wild , it also thrives at low pH values . Like all plants, this one also needs carbon dioxide . However, the plant's need is so low that additional carbon dioxide fertilization is not necessary.
The Indian water friend grows at water temperatures between 20 and 28 ° C and then forms large stocks very quickly. It grows so quickly that it has to be trimmed regularly. By planting cut side shoots can vegetatively propagated are. In only weakly lit aquariums, both height growth and shoot formation are limited. The leaves are usually brown-red in color in the upper water regions, so that color accents can be set with the plant.
An interestingly colored variant of the plant is commercially available under the name Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig' - sometimes also called Hygrophila rosae australis . The leaf veins of this variety are white, the leaf color is pink. The color is probably caused by a virus that only affects this plant and is not transmitted to other species. The infection is likely not producing enough chloroplasts near the leaf veins , which makes the leaf veins appear white. The white-colored variegation but can lose it over time.
Hazards and protective measures
Due to its wide distribution, the IUCN classifies this species as Least Concern (not endangered).
literature
- Bernd Greger: Plants in the freshwater aquarium . Birgit Schmettkamp Verlag., Bornheim 1998, ISBN 3-928819-16-X .
- Christel Kasselmann : aquarium plants. Ulmer Verlag., Stuttgart, 2nd edition 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7454-5 , pp. 315-317.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Hygrophila polysperma at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ^ A b Hygrophila in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
- ↑ Hygrophila polysperma in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: Gupta, AK, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2014.