# what type of Anubias



## Boredomb (Nov 22, 2011)

I have had this Anubias for awhile now in different setups and it has always grown no matter the setup. Right now its in my Emersed setup that I am playing around with for the first time but I am curious about the name of it since I bought it at PETCO and it was not named. 
Its the Anubias in the right front in this pic


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## pweifan (Jun 23, 2007)

It might be Anubias afzelli. Not 100% sure though.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

There's a mix-up of botanical Anubias names in the trade and hobby for decades, persisting despite Crusio's revision from 1979. The name Anubias afze*lii* (afze*lli* is a frequent misspelling) is often erroneously used for A. barteri var. angustifolia that has a narrower leaf form than Boredomb's plant.

True A. afzelii has different forms, ones with narrow leaves as A. barteri var. angustifolia, others with broader, lanceolate to elliptic leaves, so A. afzelii can't be excluded. Reliable distinction between A. afzelii, barteri and other species is actually only possible by checking details of the flowers.

Nevertheless I guess that Boredomb's plant is Anubias barteri var. glabra, especially the form that is known in the hobby as "Anubias minima" (a synonym of var. glabra).
http://www.heimbiotop.de/anubias.html#bartglab


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## Boredomb (Nov 22, 2011)

Thank you!!


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Here pics of a true A. afzelii, in the trade as "Anubias congensis": http://www.heimbiotop.de/anubias.html#afze
Similar leaf form indeed. A. afzelii can get huge, ca. 40 cm as submerged, up to 100 cm as emersed plant. 
Also A. barteri var. glabra is only a guess, based on the overall look of your plant.


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## Boredomb (Nov 22, 2011)

I know this thread is old but this plant has gotten huge since the last time I posted questioning what it was and it has also flowered.









Was wondering if y'all still thought it was still Anubias barteri var. glabra??


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

OK, thx; we have to check first by flower characters if it belongs to the species Anubias barteri (in the broader sense) or another species, that's the more difficult step.
Within A. barteri the varieties are distinguished by the leaf form. If your plant belongs to barteri, the leaves match A. barteri var. glabra.

Crusio's revision: http://edepot.wur.nl/165228 with ID key on p. 4.
But... I'm a little puzzled. A. barteri: the spathe (the "petal" that envelopes the spadix = the thick spike with the tiny flowers) opens down to the base during flowering. A. afzelii: the spathe opens halfway.
But the overall look and size of your plant, with the relatively short petioles, doesn't match A. afzelii. See also drawings and description of Anubias afzelii in the paper.
Could it be that the inflorescences in your photos are still in an early stage of flowering? Did the spathe open further to the base?


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