# what are these plants?



## Aqualove (Jul 9, 2012)

hi guys,

could you please help me identify these two plants?

1st plant:

















2nd


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

1st one is a Ludwigia species, either L. repens or L. palustris.
2nd is... very blurry. Might be Alternanthera ficoidea, which is not a true aquatic. Any chance you can get a better picture?


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## Aqualove (Jul 9, 2012)

but ludwigia leaves come out of the main stem not the branches as the one in picture, i will post a better picture for both and thanks for your reply


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## Aqualove (Jul 9, 2012)




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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

asukawashere said:


> 1st one is a Ludwigia species, either L. repens or L. palustris.
> 2nd is... very blurry. Might be Alternanthera ficoidea, which is not a true aquatic. Any chance you can get a better picture?


Good answer. I think the first one looks more like palustris.


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## cookymonster (Jul 6, 2012)

the second one also looks like a lud. species


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

asukawashere said:


> 1st one is a Ludwigia species, either L. repens or L. palustris.
> 2nd is... very blurry. Might be Alternanthera ficoidea, which is not a true aquatic. Any chance you can get a better picture?


Good answer. I think the first one looks more like palustris.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I stand by what I said earlier, a Ludwigia and probably a non-aquatic Alternanthera. The latter will not survive in an aquarium, but it makes for an excellent terrarium plant. If you pull it out of the tank and plant the stems in a pot, they may recover...

As for the Ludwigia, what you're calling "branches" are the petioles of the leaves. They may look like stems, but they're actually part of the leaf - specifically, the thin, stalk part of the leaf that attaches to the stem. Some Ludwigia species have longer petioles than others, and even within a species petiole length can vary widely (L. palustris is a particularly adaptable plant whose leaves are known to take many forms).



Cavan Allen said:


> Good answer. I think the first one looks more like palustris.


That was my gut reaction, too. I threw in repens as an afterthought, mostly on a hunch that the 2 plants came from the same source - IME, the shops that sell A. ficoidea for aquarium use aren't the type to carry anything but repens in the way of Ludwigias. But, who knows - the supplier might have made a substitution or something. The leaf shape does fit palustris better.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

asukawashere said:


> That was my gut reaction, too. I threw in repens as an afterthought, mostly on a hunch that the 2 plants came from the same source - IME, the shops that sell A. ficoidea for aquarium use aren't the type to carry anything but repens in the way of Ludwigias. But, who knows - the supplier might have made a substitution or something. The leaf shape does fit palustris better.


Heh...I thought the same thing. I don't want to absolutely commit to palustris either, but I think it more likely nonetheless.


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## Aqualove (Jul 9, 2012)

asukawashere you are right, its called Alternanthera bettzickiana and its unsuitable for aquarium growth as you said.

thank you very much guys


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