# Mystery Moss and Some Kind of Cabomba



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Yeah, I'm back looking for more IDs... first one is more of a confirmation than an ID, though.

I got a couple stems of this Cabomba from someone a few months ago and have been growing it out ever since - just topped and replanted yesterday in fact. I was told it was C. sp. 'Silver Tip' but, having never previously seen 'Silver Tip' in person (from what I know it's fairly hard to find), I want to confirm that ID. It seems to stay green all the time, but the ends curl at the ends so the paler undersides are visible, giving the impression that they're silver. See photo:








So, is there anyone who's seen Cabomba sp. 'Silver Tip' in person before that can confirm this for me, or tell me what it is otherwise?

Next up is... some kind of moss. It appeared out of nowhere one day on a piece of driftwood in a 29gal angel tank and happily settled in, and is now present on a few spots on the wood as well as in my 10g shrimp tank (figured they'd enjoy crawling on it, so I gave them some last time I trimmed it) Doesn't appear to be any of the typical Asian aquatic mosses (it has larger leaves for one, and a markedly different appearance to the growth). Given that it appeared out of nowhere, it may be a North American species, but I really have no idea. I'd like to find out, though.


----------



## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Hello, 
the Cabomba looks like that what I know as Cabomba caroliniana 'Silbergruene' ('Silver Green') that was selected in the water plant nursery Hans Barth, Dessau (Germany) in 1970(?). Maybe it is now in the trade as 'Silver tip' or under similar names (didn't find a lot about that) or a similar mutated Cabomba form arised independently somewhere. 

The moss: superficially looking like a Vesicularia species, but it might be indeed any other genus. I've got a similar moss not yet identified, but probably belonging to the family Hookeriaceae or Pilotrichaceae because of 2 long ribs per leaf, reaching near leaf tip. I'd recommend to dry (not press) a specimen and to send it to a bryologist, e.g. Prof. B.C. Tan in Singapore.


----------



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Hi miremonster,

Thanks for the ID on the Cabomba. I can't find many English references so far to C. caroliniana 'Silbergruen' but it gives me a good direction to continue looking in.

As for the moss, I don't know any bryologists, but given that I lack the paperwork to export plants, it'd probably have to be someone in the U.S. if I were to send a sample out. Hmmm...


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Do you have Aquarium Plants by Kasselmann? It's on page 162. It just means silver green.


----------

