# Native Texas ID help



## Lichard (Feb 2, 2012)

A friend and I went and gathered a few freshwater specimens for our tanks from a river today.

They were gathered in chilly water, that was clear, shallow, and had a gentle current.

I'll have a lighter beside them for scale.
___________________________________








___________________________________








___________________________________








___________________________________








___________________________________
And we found 2 different mosses








___________________________________








___________________________________

Thanks for your time


----------



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

1st one looks like watercress (Nasturtium officinale). It's an invasive plant from Europe that found its way to the States because it's a salad green.
No idea what the second photo is, but it looks really cool!
3rd could be Veronica anagallis-aquatica
Dunno about the 4th, either..

The first moss looks like a liverwort of some kind.
Second moss is a Fontinalis species. It only thrives in cold water.


----------



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

The second picture looks like something that will grow huge and out of the water. Look at the thickness of the stems compared to the leaf.


----------



## Lakeplants (Feb 21, 2011)

asukawashere said:


> 1st one looks like watercress (Nasturtium officinale). It's an invasive plant from Europe that found its way to the States because it's a salad green.
> No idea what the second photo is, but it looks really cool!
> 3rd could be Veronica anagallis-aquatica
> Dunno about the 4th, either..
> ...


I second all of the above answers. #4 is definitely a liverwort, not a moss, though they almost always grow alongside mosses.


----------



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Zapins said:


> The second picture looks like something that will grow huge and out of the water. Look at the thickness of the stems compared to the leaf.


Could be. I'd hazard a guess that it's something out of Poaceae, though (or a very closely related family), and Poaceae can have modified stems that tend to be proportionally fat. If I had to guess I'd say it's a marginal - still might look nice by a pond though!


----------



## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

asukawashere said:


> I'd hazard a guess that it's something out of Poaceae


I agree. They look like seedlings to me. There are already some Poaceae as aquarium plants (Sphaerocaryum, P. sp. "Purple Bamboo"), probably much more grasses might be suitable.


----------



## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Very true - but I think you're right about them looking like seedlings (which is further supported by the fact that it's early in the year and new growth is probably just starting to appear in TX). In which case Michael's theory that they'll grow much bigger and up out of the water is probably correct.


----------

