=> 24 Aug 2004 : Added photo of seeds and plantlets
I have 2 Aponigeton which I am not sure of the IDs
The 1st one (bottom left) has semi transparent leaves and bulb. The mature leaves are 2ft long !
Any idea what is the ID ?
When I got the 2nd Aponogeton from Teo about 2 weeks back, it was about 10" tall and I thought the height was just about right for my tank. After I planted it and stick in a few fertiliser sticks, it shot to 2ft long ! The young leaves are purplish red in colour.
So far they have produced 5 stalks of flowers.
The leaves are slightly brittle but I can't remember if it has rizome or bulb. Is this A. rigidifolius ?
*Added on 24 Aug 2004*
- These are the seeds and not seed pods
- I came back fron an oversea trip only to find the seeds missing ! After seaching through the tank, I found plantlets growing everywhere - on driftwoods, gravels and some floating on the water surface !
*Added on 17 Sep 2004*
Aponogaton seed :
Don't be afraid of my duck!
The top one should be A. undulatus.... surest to ID is if it produces plantlets on long stalks ala Echinodorus. Supposedly a SEA/South Asia plant, but I have never seen or read any reliable biotope sightings in this region.
2nd one, your guess's as good as mine.
Yes, I got the plant from a fellow forumer and I remember the plantlets growing on the stalks. However, the A. undulatus in the Oriental Plant handbook has much broader leaves and I have also seen such A. in local planted tank. Which is the true A. undulatus and which is a variety ?Originally Posted by budak
Don't be afraid of my duck!
given its supposed broad range, I am sure there's several growth forms. I have seen in German books/mags narrow leaf forms, broad leaf, reddish etc..... but the main ID key is it viviparous propogation. Rather than planting it stand-alone, I find placing a group of plants in a grove produces a splendid effect.
Oy! Back to some more guessing! The first one certainly looks like A. undulatus. But as Mr. Budak has said, you will have to wait until it either flowers or sends plantlets on a stalk. Another species that has long, thin and slightly undulated leaves is A. robinsonii but that is a bit rare.
The second one is a mystery to me. By just going by the 2-spiked inflorescence, I would say A. ulvaceus. But the leaves look too thin and barely undulate compared to what I have seen before.
A. rigidifolius grows on rhyzome and has a single spiked flower.
The problems with identifying Aponogetons is that if they are not wild collected, chances are that they are a hybrid(mostly crossed with A. natans). And then, just like Cryptocorynes, they all vary quite a bit.
-Mark Mendoza
Gan, your 1st Aponogeton pic looks like what I have in my 'Echi-tank' and I'm guessing it's A. crispus but I might be wrong.
I have even lesser idea what the 2nd one is, but.... I love the shape and patterns! If ever you find it too tall for your liking, just remember someone here like long floating leaves at the surface <hint hint>
Mark, it looks like 'Aponogeton guessing week'... should I go out and shop for more?
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Only if you plan on sharing your green treasure, hehe. Otherwise you are going to drive me crazy and people will realize how little I know!Mark, it looks like 'Aponogeton guessing week'... should I go out and shop for more?
Gan, I think that you are referring to cultivars. The plant you have may be the genuine species. However, the species tend to be varied among themselves.
I will be honest that I do not know much about Aponogetons other than what I read in research of A. madagascariensis and A. boivinianus. Only a few species that I have seen stick out like sore thumbs while the rest of the species just look the same!
Once everywhile check the tuber in your aquarium. I have found that mine sink themselves deeper into the subtrate. An anareabic environment may cause it to rot.
-Mark Mendoza
You're too modest, Mark, but I feel there's a possibility for a killifish/plant swap... don't you think so? [The thought of having all those greens in your tank ought to be an incentive to work harder :wink: ]
Having killed a good number of A. madagascariensis, I would have thrown in the towel if it doesn't work in the DW-tank. But grew it did and without all the fancy gadgets too!I will be honest that I do not know much about Aponogetons other than what I read in research of A. madagascariensis and A. boivinianus
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
I am keeping that in mind! When searching for Killifish eggs, I looked for ones that were uncommon so later I would have something to share. I will post the species and pictures when the eggs start to hatch(still a month or two left) in another thread.
Back to the topic!
A weird fact from reading Kasselmann's book: there is also a live bearing form of A. ulvaceus. I am wondering why this form did not become popular. Maybe not much use to commercial growers, but hobbyists would be able to propagate it with ease (unless it was just not prolific). Just shows how much these vary.
-Mark Mendoza
Mark,
Thanks for helping with the ID. A few people have told me the 1st one is A. undulatus and it does send out runners on a stalk so I will take this as the ID for now.
Yes, I was referring to cultivars
This is actually meant for my new 3ft tank and I am planting it in my 2ft holding tank. At the rate it is gorowing, I am sure I can spare you a few plants when I transfer them later ;-).I have even lesser idea what the 2nd one is, but.... I love the shape and patterns! If ever you find it too tall for your liking, just remember someone here like long floating leaves at the surface <hint hint
I am interested in A. undulatus 'broadleaf', the one shown in Oriental handbook. Anybody has a spare plantlet to swap with my 'narrowleaf' ?
Gan,
Check with Au SL for another variety of A. undulatus:
http://www.killies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=374
I have never seen a "broad leaf" variety but this one may be the closes to what I can imagine. The leaves look much wider and the plant is lower in height because the leaves bend down. If you look at the leaf, you can notice that the pattern of transparencies are very similar to the "narrow leaf" one you have.
If the A. undulatus shoots out plantlets, I would be willing to trade for some. Just got to start digging around and look for something you guys don't have!
-Mark Mendoza
Yes, this is the one I am looking for ;-)
No problem.If the A. undulatus shoots out plantlets, I would be willing to trade for some. Just got to start digging around and look for something you guys don't have!
I have the broad leaf type but have to wait for quite a while for any plantlet to form. will let you guys know.
Jack
Gan,
I have the Aponogeton undulatus where the leaf is 4-5cm broad. Is that the broad-leaf undulatus?
If so, I have a lot of plantlets.
Zulkifli
Gan,
I also got one similar planlet as the 1st one quite some time back. It grow to about 18" tall, then suddenly it vanished from the tank. Try to ID the plant but withno success.
Then about a month ago , re-scape the tank and found one tuber/seed (oval shape). Do not know which plant it belong to, so just plant it. Out it come the same plant. I had read somewhere in the internet, this species, will suddenly die off ( take a rest) and re-grow again after the rest period.
No flowering, no runners ( may be didn't see it). The tuber/seed seems to be grown from the original planlet.
Koh Heng.
The 1st one (bottom left) has semi transparent leaves and bulb. The mature leaves are 2ft long !
Any idea what is the ID ?
When I got the 2nd Aponogeton from Teo about 2 weeks back, it was about 10" tall and I thought the height was just about right for my tank. After I planted it and stick in a few fertiliser sticks, it shot to 2ft long ! The young leaves are purplish red in colour.
So far they have produced 5 stalks of flowers.
The leaves are slightly brittle but I can't remember if it has rizome or bulb. Is this A. rigidifolius ?
Aponogeton undulatus is able to go through a dormancy stage within an aquarium. So if the leaves die off(and if the tuber is still alive), just leave if where it is- like how you treat a dormant A. madagascariensis.
Ah... there are so many Aponogeton species that I would like to get my hands on. Hopefully A. rigidifolius appears nearby sometime.
-Mark Mendoza
Hi Gan,
Yeah, that's the same aponogeton that I got from Teo wks back, the one that I said had what look like barcode pattern running along the sides of its leaves. Teo told me that they were from Thailand.
Boy, and how have they grown after I gave them a shot of root monster fertiliser ball, like yours, the leaves are shooting up to the water surface already, and I guess they must be nearly 1 ft and a half long.
Cheers,
Kenny
Gan, I went down to Teo's again to look for your narrow 'whatchamacallit' aponogeton and end up buying something similar. A closer view of the 'patterns' that Kenny & I call 'bar codes' [that's the kind of description one gets when two 'fish-person' goes plant-shopping :wink: ]
Any idea what is the ID ?
Although there are some similarity with the 1st pic, it isn't narrow
I've planted them, together with the one you gave me, in the same tank and will do a comparison when it grows bigger.
Here's a pic of the rhizome (bulb?)
I checked with Teo himself and according to him, the suppliers received it from a 'wild-collection' and nobody's sure of what it is. Since it was from Thailand, it was temporary coined 'Aponogeton siamensis'
I recall previously having an aponogeton with undulated, rigid (plasticky) leaves, which I suspected may have been the rigidifolius. What I found today, although similar, was the Aponogeton capuroni, said to be from Africa.
Other pics here.
Something else caught my attention and it was a group of emersed Nuphar japonica with it's pretty yellow flowers. Although the prospect of digging into the 'organically fertilized' substrate wasn't too appetizing, I went ahead and grapple around to feel their rhizomes (oh boy... it was long, thick and hard). Had to get one and here's a pic of it with submerged foilage.
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ron,
That would be a picture of a tuber. My mother is well into gardening and she taught me that bulbs are smooth(like Crinum sp) and tubers are hairy(like Aponogeton sp. and Nymphaea sp.).
From checking Kasselmann's book, apparently identifing A. undulatus is just as easy as checking if there are any pellucid markings(the barcode pattern of transparencies).
Nice find on the A. capuroni. It is the only plant I know of that has leaves that can literally crack in half.
About the new mystery Aponogeton: when it flowers, be sure to post a picture!
-Mark Mendoza
Mark, thanks... but what then to differentiate tuber from rhizome? [or is it the same thing?] I'll update flower pics as and when they appear.
Don't quite get it. Is the fracture due to leaf stiffnes or ...?
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
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