# List of needle-like leaved stem plants with round whorls/tops (and where to get them)



## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

They seem to be becoming increasingly popular; a tank full of plants like this won best in show in last year's AGA contest:

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2004.cgi?&Scale=514&op=showcase&category=0&vol=3&id=8

This is a list I've compiled so far. I've left out some of the extremely common species, such as _egeria densa_:

_Didiplis Diandra
Rotala Rotundifolia_ aka _Rotala Indica_ (some identify these as separate species)
_Rotala Pusilla
Tonina sp.
Limnophila Aromatica
Egeria Najas
Rotala sp. "Nanjenshan" _aka_ Mayaca Sellowiana
Eusteralis Stellata _aka_ Pogostemon Stellata _(_"Broad Leaf"_ var. may be easier)
_Ludwigia Inclinata var. Verticillata _(_"Cuba"_)

Aquariumlandscapes.net (and their sister site fishvet.com) used to carry a lot of these, and although the sites appear to be up and taking orders, Dr. Prescott has taken to ill health and the sites are for all intents and purposes currently closed and rumored to be permanently closed. (Apparently he is going to have surgery on his eyes for undisclosed reasons.)

Aquatic-store.com seems to have a lot of these, though many of them are currently not available as they are growing them out. They do have a sponsor forum here on these forums.

Another site that seems to have many rare plants available is pets-warehouse.com. It is run by Robert Novak, the man who sued hobbyists for complaining about his products and/or services on internet forums. However, it doesn't appear there's been any trouble from them (to customers anyway) for the past few years. It may be worth a try to place an order, as the prices are quite competitive. They do have a longer lead time as they only ship plants every 2 - 3 weeks.

Some of them also may be available at Arizona Aquatic Gardens, although some people have complained about expensive shipping charges and long lead times (they ship plants every Thursday but the order cutoff time is Monday).

I would love to be able to order these plants from Tropica, but sadly, they cannot ship to the USA due to a stupid USDA ban on rockwool.

Finally, there's always Aquabid. Or even the sale/trade forum.

Any more ideas for plants to add to the list, or other places to buy them?


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Your list does not make too much sense to me. 

I do not consider a lot of those plants as being similar at all -- nor in popularity, nor in appearance, nor in rareness.

The best of show tank last year, Oliver's tank, features a group of unrelated genera I prefer to label as the "bottle brush" plants. These tend to be large, thick stemmed stem plants with whorls of verticellate leaves. They tend to be very beautiful. Let's take a look at them:

Limnophila aromatica










Ludwigia inclinata var. verticellata 'Pantanal'










Ludwigia 
inclinata var. verticellata "Cuba"










Pogostemon (Eusteralis) stellatus 'Narrow'










Pogostemon (Eusteralis) stellatus 'Broad Leaf'










Follow the names in blue to the Plant Finder, which has description and more photos on all of these species/varieties.

Carlos


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

What about Rotala wallachi, Mayaca fluviatalis, Tonina sps. Belem, Manaus and (ah heck, whats the other one), Rotala sp Vietnam, one of the Najas sp. I forget which one, etc. Those are what I would really consider the "bottle-brush" plants. Thats just me though, I am usually a little different than everyone else

I am sure there are others I am not remembering right now.


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

dennis said:


> What about Rotala wallachi, Mayaca fluviatalis, Tonina sps. Belem, Manaus and (ah heck, whats the other one), Rotala sp Vietnam, one of the Najas sp. I forget which one, etc. Those are what I would really consider the "bottle-brush" plants. Thats just me though, I am usually a little different than everyone else
> 
> I am sure there are others I am not remembering right now.


The big ones are the bottlebrush plants. The little ones are the needle-leaved plants. I guess that would be: Rotala hippuris, Rotala wallichii, Rotala sp. 'Vietnam', Rotala sp. 'Nanjenshan', Rotala occultiflora, Rotala mexicana, Mayaca fluviatilis, Mayaca sellowiana. 

Toninas are odd. They get dumped into their own category along with Eriocaulon setaceum. I think it is T. fluviatilis, T. sp. 'Belem', T. sp. 'Manaus', T. sp. 'Uapes', T. sp. '*****', etc. 

Najas indica. Hmm. The leaves on that one are so stiff though. The Mayacas and Rotalas have much softer foliage.

It is all a bit subjective. A lot of these plants are not even related to each other. 

Carlos


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

Ah, "bottle brush" plants... a fitting name which I didn't know about! 

That's what I'm talking about.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

tsunami, a lot of those are _extremely_ rare, at least for me.. this is the first I've even heard of them, let alone seen any one or any place selling them. Where do you normally find species like this?


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

Salt said:


> tsunami, a lot of those are _extremely_ rare, at least for me.. this is the first I've even heard of them, let alone seen any one or any place selling them. Where do you normally find species like this?


I've only found a few of those plants at my LFS. They were left over from back when they had a manager that actually knew something about plants. All the other rarities are best obtained via trades on here or bought on Aquabid. There are also some online retailers who sell some of these rarer plants, but I can't personally vouch for any of them.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

Well, at least now I know about them and can keep an eye out for them.

Thanks for all the info guys!


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I have

Didiplis
Rotala indica
Egeria Najas
Rotala sp. "Nanjenshan" aka Mayaca Sellowiana
Eusteralis Stellata aka Pogostemon Stellata both varieties, broad leaf and narrow leaf
Ludwigia arcuata, (needle leaf)

After the first of the year I will be importing from Oriental Aquarium, so most likely any of the plants in their most recent catalog will be available to me, which is the chief source where Fishvet got his plants.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

Robert Hudson said:


> After the first of the year I will be importing from Oriental Aquarium, so most likely any of the plants in their most recent catalog will be available to me, which is the chief source where Fishvet got his plants.


That will make me happy.


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

> Rotala sp. "Nanjenshan" aka Mayaca Sellowiana


These are both totally different, unrelated species. They are not synonyms. Mayaca sellowiana is is more like a gigantic Mayaca fluviatilis, while Rotala sp. 'Nanjenshan' is more similar to Rotala wallichii but green.

Carlos


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

According to Tropica,



> There is some uncertainty about the correct name of this plant. For some time it has been sold as _Mayaca sellowiana_, but actually this is _Rotala sp._ ''Nanjenshan'' (species unknown). It is a graceful plant with needle-shaped leaves. It requires a relatively large amount of light, and CO2 addition is recommended to promote growth. The most decorative effect is achieved by planting it in groups. Also suitable for small aquariums.


http://www.tropica.com/productcard.asp?id=032B

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Rotala+Nanjenshan+Mayaca+sellowiana&btnG=Google+Search

Do you have some photos of each species?


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## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

tsunami said:


> These are both totally different, unrelated species. They are not synonyms. Mayaca sellowiana is is more like a gigantic Mayaca fluviatilis, while Rotala sp. 'Nanjenshan' is more similar to Rotala wallichii but green.
> 
> Carlos


thanks Tsunami.. i was just about to point that out.. a lot of peopl get confused with this.


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## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

The above plant is Mayaca sellowiana.










This is Rotala sp. 'Nanjenshan.'

I do not understand why Tropica has not fixed their mistake. It has been quite some time that we've known both species to be separate and unrelated at that.

You can order both species separately from Oriental Aquariums (Lowcoaster on Aquabid is a good person to ask). I think he is selling Mayaca sellowiana right now.

Carlos


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I think that Tropica has a few translation issues here and there that make it look like they're saying _Mayaca sellowiana_ and _Rotala 'Nanjenshan'_ are synonyms. The same issue makes it look like they're saying _Rotala rotundifolia_ and _indica_ are the same, when of course, they aren't.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

Now that I look at it, I think Tropica is only saying that a lot of the _mayaca sellowiana_ that is being sold is actually _rotala sp. "nanjenshan"_.


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

Cavan Allen said:


> I think that Tropica has a few translation issues here and there that make it look like they're saying _Mayaca sellowiana_ and _Rotala 'Nanjenshan'_ are synonyms. The same issue makes it look like they're saying _Rotala rotundifolia_ and _indica_ are the same, when of course, they aren't.


They aren't? I thought that Rotala indica was renamed to Rotala rotundifolia. If they're not the same, does anyone know what species Florida Aquatic Nurseries distributes as R. indica? Is it true indica?


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## lowcoaster (Dec 6, 2004)

*Rotala najean vs. Mayaca sellowiniana*

I have had both species in stock and, at least from Oriental, they are different plants--they look different and are different shades of green.


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