What floating plant is this?

[RonWill]

Dear all,

While I was appreciating a tank at Eco Culture, where the dangling roots of floating plants were almost meeting the tips of hairgrass, I noticed a 'new' plant that I didn't have.

It wasn't frogbit, water lettuce, duckweed or Salvinia natans.
http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/fi.../ECfloater.JPG

I love floaters as killies are less skittish with lotsa overhead shelter, and will be propagating this 'new' one as well.

ID suggestions, anyone?

[zmzfam]

Hmm...first time when I click the hyperlink I get the block from Angelfire. But I can see the pics if I copy and paste the URL into a new browser window.

Pardon me Ron for not getting your permission first, but for everyone's benefit, here's Ron's pic:

[aquazeebo]

Hmmm, I'm not sure but i think it is Pistia stratiotes
http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1...128&mode=close




Radek W

[RonWill]

Hi Radek,
The common name, in Singapore at least, for Pistia stratiotes is 'Water lettuce'.

When grown under direct sun, the leaves do look like lettuce but with less light and reduced nutrient, both the roots and leaves undergo changes. However, none of the Pistia stratiotes I have, have morphed to what it is in the picture.

Nice try, Radek :wink:

[ruyle]

It's water lettuce. I have some that have gone completely to this from
pond-raised stuff that had big fleshy leaves. Look at the root systems in
the picture: spot-on for water lettuce--I have 3 plant books that show the
root systems, they are identical.

Regards,

Bill
farang9

[aquazeebo]

I think i'm right that it is pistia. There is no plant like it. So it must be it

[hwchoy]

No it is not the water lettuce Pistia stratiotes. Both plants are very very common in Singapore, I used to throw out a 2 litre tub every week just from a 3ft tank.

Not only are the leaves of a different appearance and structure, the roots are also organised differently and of different colours. I'm still checking for the scientific name, surprising could not find it in both the Oriental plant book and the Walstad book.

[ruyle]

Heng Wah:

Not only are the leaves of a different appearance and structure, the roots are also organised differently and of different colours. I'm still checking for the scientific name, surprising could not find it in both the Oriental plant book and the Walstad book.

I would be curious to see what you find out. I've kept pistia stratiodes in
my tanks since the 60s of one form or another. I bought some water
lettuce from a lady in Boise Idaho a few months back that looked very similar to the above picture:leaves about an inch long, devoid of striations or light veining, with just a faint darker vein running down the middle of the leaf. I have plants that are offspring of pond-raised that have light
veining in them but are already of the same shape as what is pictured. I
would be very surprised if it is not of the Aroids like pistia stratiodes. As
far as coloration of roots, that depends greatly on what conditions the water is: they collect all sorts of gunk from the water on the fine hairs. But
when the roots are rinsed under running water the larger taproot-looking
roots return to white. They are sometimes called "miniature water lettuce " or "aquarium-grown" water lettuce, in the US, however mistakenly.
It would be nice to know its proper name, if not pistia stratiodes.

Regards,

Bill Ruyle
farang9

[Green Baron]

No it is not the water lettuce Pistia stratiotes. ..
Not only are the leaves of a different appearance and structure, the roots are also organised differently and of different colours.

Agree with Choy that this is definitely not Water Lettuce.
In fact I just got some from Subzero last week ;-) Any idea which grows faster : this or frog bits ?

[hwchoy]

I had both in my tank and pond and it never once entered my mind they are the same plant. They could be related but not the same. The roots are different in structure, if I recall correctly the water lettuce had one big tap root and they are white, while this one have more bushy roots and are darker blackish. I grow both in my tank so they don't have gunk

Anyway Gan, this one grows much faster in the sense they cover the water surface quicker, possibly due to the larger leaves.

Now to find the real scientific name…

[RonWill]

Hi all, I'm beginning to suspect that the mysterious floater is an environment-adapted/evolved specimen of pistia stratiodes.

In the series of pictures, one can observe the transformation into something that's so unlike the original form. Gone are the veins and striations. Basic structure of roots less bushy and has coarser roots.

'Fresh' pond-raised "mommy" Water lettuce in tank (after quarantine)

040429

Pistia stratiodes (1st adaptation) Note the change in leaf shape/size from original form.
Attached to the 'daughter' plant via runners, are 2 plantlets, with different leaf arrangement.

040601. Big Pic.

Pistia stratiodes (2nd adaptation) + un-ID'ed floater [Click for larger image]

040601
Pistia plantlet (at mid-lower of pic) mingled with the unknown.

According to date of pics taken, in one short month, the plant has continuously adapted to it's environment and should be interesting to note the leaf form in another month. Perhaps we can now understand why Bill and Radek said that these are the same plant!

Since I ain't no 'plant-person', there's still the possibility that it's in fact 2 different species!

Gan CW, from my observation, this unknown floater grows faster and sends more runners than Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum).

PS: Folks, sorry if the images keep disappearing. I'm on a learning curve navigating around the folders of the upcoming members' gallery.

[ruyle]

Heng Wah,
Thanks for the lack of address to me and the rolling eyes to my comments,
but do you have "Aquarium Plants Manual" by Scheurmann? It has the
best picture of the root systems on page 29. Could you tell me which one
of the several large white roots hanging down is the taproot? They are all roughly the same size and thickness Anyway, I've kept this plant in
5 different time zones in the world and in those time zones, several latitudes, and have been confronted with many different water conditions.
And further, have seen different transmogrifications due to conditions, be
they light, water, or nutrient. I'm glad your roots don't have gunk on them :wink: I'll be checking elsewhere for the answer.


Bill Ruyle
farang9

[hwchoy]

Ronnie, I'm not one to say never, but I have had both plants in the same tank side-by-side for some time, their roots are just different.

Bill, so sorry if I offended unintentionally. If you had physically observed the transformation of the same plant from square upright leaves to rounded flattened leaves, then obviously there is something going on. I just wanted to say I have the two plants under the same condition for two years and they never exhibited any morphological changes. Like I said they look so different (the ROOTS!!) they just didn't come across as to be the same species.

I haven't have your book, and I made a mistake earlier about the Walstad book. Actually it is the Kesselman book, which I flipped completely this evening and didn't find the unID plant. So… I don't know

[RonWill]

I'm not one to say never...

And neither do I but there was a small disclaimer, "...there's still the possibility that it's in fact 2 different species!"

Choy, it would be great if someone could ID the plant, even if it's just to know.

The other thing we overlooked is the possibility of something else triggering the transformation or holding back the changes of the same plant in 2 different stages within the same environment??

Azmi gave me enough floaters to place specimens in different tanks. Guess I'll have to be more observant and see how the individual floater grows.

[budak]

It's quite definitely Pistia stratiodes. A couple of months ago, I purchased one fat specimen grown under outdoor conditions, which soon self-propagated into this "degenerate" form in my low light tank. The plant remains highly prolific though, having outcompeted Limnobium sp. in my tank.

[hwchoy]

Now you are all making me regret throwing out all my plants