# Today's "Rare" Plants



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Hey Guys,

The classification of "rare plants" has ocassionally come up with different definations of which species of plants are rare and/or hard to obtain. So to clarify or perhaps make the picture even more obtuse:

*What plants do you consider "rare" and what makes them so rare?*

And to further enhance the discussion, if you are growing any of the "rare" plants share some of your growing tips and parameters too. 

-John N.


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## dwhite645 (Jan 9, 2005)

I just consider a plant "rare" if it's A) hard to come by and B) if it's pricey. The "rarest" plant I have is a couple Aponogeton Madagascar Lace plants. Not very rare, but sometimes hard to get a hold of.
"Rare" is also when you're thumbing through an aquarium plant book and you say "what the hell is that?" But that's just me


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

I consider rare something that I haven't seen for sale in my area... like elodea. 


And c. tonkinensis. 

But I think that to the average fish keeper, most of the plants we talk about are "rare" - ranunculus, eriocaulon, tonina, etc.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

my definition of rare is something that I have a hard time finding or keeping alive


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## Fome (Oct 29, 2006)

Up until a few weeks ago, riccia was very rare to me.

Now... not much so


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## Aeropars (Apr 20, 2006)

Rare to me is a very pink inside to a juicy steak....

Oh wrong context 

It would have to be something thats hard to get hold of in my area. In general, I'd say rare would be something which there is not much of in the world.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Ah, I think we have a good definition of what a "rare' plant is. From what I gather, it's a plant that is hard to find due to availability and ease of locating it in one's area. But what specific plants are rare for most folks?

For me, I haven't seen these for trade or sale often,

 1. Ammannia gracilis
2. Pogostemon Eustralis stellata "narrow leaf"
 3. Eriocaulon cinereum

-John N.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

John N. said:


> Ah, I think we have a good definition of what a "rare' plant is. From what I gather, it's a plant that is hard to find due to availability and ease of locating it in one's area. But what specific plants are rare for most folks?
> 
> For me, I haven't seen these for trade or sale often,
> 
> ...


For some reason those seem to have fallen by the wayside. The used to be traded quite frequently here and over at PT. In regards to the stellatus I believe that has to do with it's difficulty to grow. It's still one of the best looking plants out there.

My collection is to the point where 'rare' to me is a plant that only few people have in the United States, or on a global level, in the world.


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

To me it is anything that *must* be imported because it cannot or is not grown in the US. I know a lot of plants are imported but those same plants are often traded between individuals. There are some I've never seen offered for sale or trade.

Another form of 'rarity' to me is the difficulty in keeping the plant. If it needs a strong current, enriched substrate, 5 WPG, 36" tall tank, and tons of ferts/CO2, that's a pretty darn rare plant! Doubt there is anything out there like that but you get the idea. The rarity may not be in availability but in the ability of the tank owner to keep the plant. Not many people could do that which would lead to the plant not being actively produced/collected for sale.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I think a rare plant is anything that is not readily available. When describing rare I don't take into account LFS since there are none in my area that really carry anything in the line of plants unless you want to count PetSmart. rare plants don't have to be expensive either. HC, even though it is becomming more common, can still be rare at times. 

Location plays a big part in "rarity" also. Some plants may not be rare on the east or west coast but I have found they can be very difficult to find in the midwest.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

To me rare is anything that has to be imported, that is not sold commercially in this country by commercial growers in this country. A plant may be commonly traded amoungst you guys little circle to the point that it is no longer "rare" in your mind, but outside your circle it is not commonly avaialble and is rare. An example is Blyxa. This plant has become somewhat over saturated between members of the online "plant community" but is not produced by any grower in this country, and sold by only perhaps a couple of major online businesses in the USA. There are lots of other plants like that. Frankly that's what keeps me going. My goal now is since I am developing a closer direct relationship with Florida Aquatic Nurseries, is to influence them to import more of these rare plants so I will not have to. They have acres and acres to grow plants on, and when they grow HC it will be very common and very inexpensive. I predict this will happen within a year.



> that I haven't seen for sale in my area... like elodea.


Thats because Elodea is illegal in California!


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## ShortFin (Jan 13, 2006)

Robert Hudson said:


> Thats because Elodea is illegal in California!


Are you sure it's illegal? The local PetSmart and Petco has them for sale all the time.


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Well the rare plants i'm after are Anubias nana with variegated leaves or one that has really yellow leaves - I'm told they exist!
I've got some rare ones, like Anubias nana 'Yellow Heart' and 'Petite' and got 'Coffeefolia' too. Love them coz they're bomb proof for me! and very rare over here.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

When I think of Rare plants, the first thing that comes to mind is the whole tonnina/eriocaulon scene, including Dow Noi. Of course, among bacopas, rotalas, and ludwigias, there are a handful of rare species in each. Utricularia could be considered similarly as well as some of the newer mosses like Fissiden sp. and cement moss (though after learning that cement moss requires high PH and is mostly terrestrial it seems not-so appealing to me).

Of course there are many other groups that come to mind. There are many rare varieties or species of anubias and cryptocorenes for instance. And a number of rarely-thought-of plants with a lot of "not common" plants that are actually quite hard to find because of their lack of popularity. I think of small creeping hydrocotyle sp., eleocharis vivipara, crassula helmsi, micropea, and a few others.

The one really rare plant that I'm dying to try someday is "Bacopa sp. From Japan"


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## racialfish (Aug 15, 2006)

Nothing Is condisdered rare to me ever since I started buying off the internet.


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## mousky (Jul 6, 2006)

Crinums are like hens teeth in Aus, very hard to find unless you know someone that knows someone that...

Java fern needle leaf

Crypt spiralis

Crypt tonkenensis (sp?)

The list goes on and on and on.


There are a lot of plants that are unavailable in Aus because of our VERY strict quaranitne laws. 

If you import a plant it has to be a tissue culture or it gets quarintined for 3 months in a lab costing you thousands and then its probably dead after that anyway. AARRGGHH!!!

If you get cought importing a plant illegally you could get fined up to $20,000.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

ShortFin said:


> Are you sure it's illegal? The local PetSmart and Petco has them for sale all the time.


Yea...I just saw a bunch last week at PetSmart. Hmmmm.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

anacharis = egeria densa = elodea densa but not elodea canadensis. (I should have specified)


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

To me, rare is relative to whatever is difficult to obtain in your particular area.


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## bijoon (Nov 20, 2006)

The amazon sword, jk. Rare to me is something that I cannot find in a LFS and have a hard time finding online or is expensive online.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

*To sum up our defination of Rare Plants:*

1. Unavailable locally
2. Hard/expensive to obtain via internet
3. Hard to grow, and require specific water parameters

I found it interesting not many people mention what rare plants specifically they would want and are looking for.

-John N.


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## thatguy (Oct 16, 2005)

Robert Hudson said:


> A plant may be commonly traded amoungst you guys little circle to the point that it is no longer "rare" in your mind, but outside your circle it is not commonly avaialble and is rare. QUOTE]
> 
> That works the other way as well.
> Just because you dont see plant in your area or in the USA doesnt mean its rare around the world. Im in Asia right now and most of the "rare" and costly plants in the USA are common in Asia. CRS, they are available at many fish stores for a few dollars for the "lower" grade type, tigers and bulmblebees as well are only a few dollars, sometimes just a buck.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Thats true, and apparently some of what is considered comon here in the USA is considered rare in Singapore. The Singapore plants that are rare here in the USA are apparently just as rare in places like Europe, Australia, Canada... at least those not being offered by Tropica and other like companies.


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