Pogostemon Helferi a.k.a. Downoi

[jerryC]

Loh,

I bouoght a pot of Downoi from Tropica during aquarama recently. I noticed there are about 10 stalks in a pot ( not that I'm complaining )and seems that they are growing downwards instead of vertically upwards. Does yours grows this way????

jerry

[timebomb]

Jerry,

I believe there must be some mistake. As far as I know, Tropica didn't have a booth at Aquarama. They are usually one of the exhibitors but this time round, they are absent. I think what you bought isn't Downoi because it would be highly unlikely there could be 10 stalks in one pot. The Downoi has a rather thick stem so they would likely to pot them one stalk to a pot.

I was at Teo's Aquatic plant farm recently and the boss there told me he sold many stalks of Downoi to a couple of Indonesian hobbyists for Sing $30 per stalk. Teo's Downois are grown in emersed form so the stems are thicker than usual and the leaves broader. In fact, the plant looks lovelier in emersed than submersed form. Emersed, the leaves exhibit 2 colours and the curls along the sides of the leaves are very conspicuous.

Anyway, I don't believe Tropica would sell the Downoi for a lower price than what Teo is selling. So if it's 10 stalks to a pot, very few hobbyists would be able to afford a single pot.

I hope you didn't pay a high price for your plant, Jerry. You could have been conned.

Loh K L

[Robert]

Hi Jerry,
yes, it would be very unlikely that you got a pot of downois from Tropica. At least in Europe Tropica didn't offer yet any downoi as far as I know.

Perhaps you got a Najas species. Najas guadelupensis looks quit similar to downois. I have both plants (at least I think so, I'm not quit sure about the Najas) and on the first gaze there are no really obvious differences. The downois' leaves are slightly curled and the whole stem is sightly thicker but that's almost all. BTW, young downois show almost no curled leaves and the internodia can be as wide as 1cm, depending on the conditions in your tank. The Najas is darker green than the downoi, at least in my tank where both plants grow side by side. This website show a good picture of the mentioned Najas species: http://planta.aquariana.cz/Najas_guadelup.htm. Maybe you got a Najas. BTW, observe the growth of your plants. The Najas does not really grow fast but much faster than downois. My downois grow only 1-1.5cm a month, the Najas grow several centimeters a month.

best regards

Robert

[jerryC]

Loh & Robert,

I wish isn't true what you have told me. I took another careful look at the tag and it is Pogostemon Helferi from Tropica. Though, the pots and tag is slightly different from the other tropica plants i bought before, I guess it is their latest design. (Pardon my Photo Quality, just got home from Penang and just too lazy to use tripod )



In my Nano tank




In my Moss tank




In my KIV Tank



In my KIV Tank



Floating in my KIV Tank



In my Crypt Tank



In my Crypt Tank



Tropica Pot



Tropica Tag

[timebomb]

Jerry,

It isn't very clear from the pics but if the Tropica tag says it's Pogostemon helferi, then it is a Downoi. As far as I know, Tropica tissue cultures the plant in their labs.

There's an interesting story revolving around the Downoi. If you don't already know, my good friend, Nonn Panitvong from Thailand was the man who introduced the plant to our hobby. He found the plant growing on the banks of a river somewhere near the Thailand/Myammar border. Nonn thought he found a new species and was very disappointed later when an expert told him the plant has already been described more than a hundred years ago.

Still, we all should thank Nonn for introducing the plant to us. I can't reveal more details as Nonn is going to write the Downoi story for TAG (The Aquatic Gardener) soon.

In any case, to answer your first question, Nonn told me that in emersed form, the plant creeps along the crevices of rocks in its natural habitat.

Loh K L