# Java fern varieties/clones



## lampeye (Oct 29, 2007)

I've been trying to track down what forms of this highly variable plant are present in the hobby, and most of the info I've seen is several years old. "Windelov," "Tropica," narrow leaf, needle leaf (Taiwan?), "undulata," trident, red, Philippine...what all is out there currently, and who is maintaining what?


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## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

I have 3 types of java fern right now. Windelov, commin type, asnd i think narrow leaf. All i know about the last one is it has stayed smaller and has thinner leaves.


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## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

Needle leaf is not Taiwan, it was seen on alot of ADA's layout design for a while. I do not know there is a red one... Trident are less common on/avil. the market.


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## lampeye (Oct 29, 2007)

armedbiggiet said:


> Needle leaf is not Taiwan, it was seen on alot of ADA's layout design for a while. I do not know there is a red one... Trident are less common on/avil. the market.


I don't think the red form is available in the US. The very newest growth (the stuff that's normally translucent green on the familiar J-fern varieties) has a red tint. It disappears rather quickly, but on on a large, actively-growing specimen it looks good. I've read it was sold, then withdrawn by Tropica since the color was so fleeting. It seems to be a much larger plant than typical J-fern. I've seen some pics of some amphibious ferns (_Colysis_ sp. maybe? Can't remember) that show this trait. And somewhere there's a paper showing that our Java ferns are closer to some other genera than they are to other _Microsorum_ species. I can't WAIT for the nomenclatural circus within the hobby when that gets all straightened out by the botanists.

Man...so "Taiwan" is different from needle-leaf? That makes THREE species and/or cultivars with long, strap-like leaves.

EDIT: Scroll down for some great pics. You'll see the red J-fern here - http://forum.aquatic-gardeners.org/viewtopic.php?t=721


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I'm keeping regular, windelov, needle leaf (I think - it was sold to me as narrow leaf but multiple people have told me it's needle leaf), and recently I got some trident which I love. Much smaller and rather slow growing so it's not so overwhelming.


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## lampeye (Oct 29, 2007)

"Red" is in the US hobby, so my bad on that one.

Confusing the issue even more is that, like other plants, Java ferns have different growth habits depending on conditions. So some of the needle-leaf forms _could_ be narrow-leaf, and vice versa. I have something I'm sure is needle, but under bright light and carbon supplementation, the blades tend to be wider and a bit shorter, looking like some plants I've seen identified as narrow-leaf.


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## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

lampeye said:


> "Red" is in the US hobby, so my bad on that one.
> 
> Confusing the issue even more is that, like other plants, Java ferns have different growth habits depending on conditions. So some of the needle-leaf forms _could_ be narrow-leaf, and vice versa. I have something I'm sure is needle, but under bright light and carbon supplementation, the blades tend to be wider and a bit shorter, looking like some plants I've seen identified as narrow-leaf.


I know what you are talking about and think and feel the same way on the needle/narrow. It is just differet condition and that did showed it in my tanks in different conditions. But alot of people just can't listening to others and believe there are different kinds, the ture is there are not that many aquatic plants out there.


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## lampeye (Oct 29, 2007)

Well, I do think that needle and narrow are different...but I think that many of the varieties out there are merely the result of different growing conditions. For example, I have a hunk of bogwood covered with Java fern which has never grown more than 2 inches high. It's been several _years_ at this point. But I KNOW it's not some kind of mini-variety, because it was plain ol' "normal" Java fern when I tied it down. After going into an extremely dark tank, the large leaves died off and it has only put of tiny ones. The past month or so I've been dumping in Excel and the leaves are growing faster and beginning to exceed the 2-inch mark.


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