# Unknown plant



## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

I was walking around the lake today, hoping to chance upon some mosses. But I got this! Found it in a man made reservoir filled with water from a stream, but the bank broke... revealing this...potential foreground plant...


















Comparison with a pencil tip.









Can anyone id it?
- _Rosette, leaves are under 2cm_
- _I am still not very sure of the conditions that this plant will grow in, but all I can say for now is... the location I found it was muddy, reeking with ammonia when I stepped into the mud. I ll try sticking it into one of my tanks with aquasoil to see what happens. _
- _When I first saw it, I immediately thought of a minute version of Echinodorus martii if you like. Leaves are not undulated tho. Altho the patterns on the leaves remind of dwarf sagittaria. It cant be a malnutritioned version of the dwarf sagittaria as the leaves are growing quite robustly and full. _

P/s... it'll be very nice for a Malaysian who lives near Kuala Lumpur to contact me so we can collect the plant. Non Malaysian will also do but do you live close enough to KL to drop by tomorrow? =) The park is currently going through some upgrades. Often enough it means a downgrade for the ecology. Help?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

It looks like an _Eriocaulon_ to me. Have you ever found any flowers? If that's what it is, you will see small white round flower heads on long straight stalks. A common name for _Eriocaulon_ species is 'hatpin'.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

I am not very familar with the Eriocaulon species besides the ones that are commonly known to the aquariums, but I googled it. Hatpin aka pipeworts have rather vascular leaves as compared to the ones I have. I still think its more to the sagittaria/echinodorus species. 

I went for another good round of harvesting. I got a healthy bunch. No worries tho, the place I found them is still festering with those little leaves. Will post info on it when it grows out in my tank. Thanks for viewing.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

The leaves look an awful lot like Vallisneria leaves to me. I wonder if it isn't a very dwarfed form of Vallisneria. Under some conditions the leaves can be very short in nature, but when the plants are transplanted to aquaria, the leaves can become much longer. If the leaves stay short in the aquarium, then you may have a very interesting new Val.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Nice feedback HeyPK! Actually, I am more curious in finding out what it really is. Not looking forward to "find a new plant". But that'll be very very very exciting too. Heh. I spoke about this to a agriculture grad, he suggested that it MIGHT be what u said too.

Juv version or just usual plants taking new forms in different situations. So I am not getting my hopes high. It ll be quite interesting tho, to be able to emulate conditions to grow normal vals this way.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I found a short Vallisneria on the Santa Fe River during Tom Barr's Plantfest II (not nearly as short as yours, Stepheus), and I had hopes that it would stay short in the aquarium, but, after it got settled in, It got leaves over two feet long. So, it was short because of the growth conditions in the river, not because of its genetics. However, it is worth a try to plant some of your plants and see what they grow into under aquarium conditions.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Can you provide a closeup of the veining on the leaves?


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## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

Looks like a Sagittaria. They are cultivated in East Asia, so that might fit the bill.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Here are some additional pictures:
Comparison btwn glosso and "unknown plant":









I brightened up the pic and played with the contrast, here are some close ups as requested:









Thoughts?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Well, it's definitely not an _Eriocaulon_ like I thought it might be. It almost looks like a tiny _Vallisneria_. If it is, I don't know what to tell you about what species it might be.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Here is some update on the plants I found. The leaves have definitely grown longer than the previous 2cm. Now, its at a estimated 3cm per leaf. Will continue posting as it progresses


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## gibmaker (Jan 3, 2007)

very cool! keep us updated.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I think you need to increase your iron dosing.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

It is still hard to tell what it is, but it certainly looks interesting! It is looking less like Vallisneria now, as Vallisneria leaves don't narrow at the base, and these leaves do. Push the iron as Cavan says. I will be looking forward to seeing the next pictures!


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Here is something interesting. I think I found the plant online here, when I was looking at some Marsilea. But I dont think we have the name yet. 








I tried looking all over the website but fail to find identification for the plant. I couldnt find the "Contact" button either. Hmm..


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

That's Rhonda Wilson. If you have a copy of TFH handy, it has contact information in there.


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## frozenbarb (Feb 8, 2007)

hmm nice plant i think you found a nice rare native species probably? see if it progragnates


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I found this on one of Rhonda's web pages:



> The best way to get a hold of me is on the Natural Aquariums Forum. I hardly ever answer my email. It's just that I'm very busy and can't do everything I'm supposed to be doing so I just don't usually answer emails. I do read them however. If you want to email me anyway I can be reached at rhonda at my aquarium domain, naturalaquariums dot com. Sorry for writing it out like that but I really hate to get spam, and if I put it in the correct way with @ and . then I get huge amounts of spam.


The plant in her picture of Marselia looks like an Echinodorus, possibly E. quadricostatus. Your plant, I think, has a different pattern of veins.


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## Leonard (Mar 4, 2007)

It couldn't be some kind of Sagittaria?


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

the plant still looks the same, but it is losing leaves. you could blame it on my dosing schedule, but the other plants e.g. ludwiga sp. guinea which gets the same amount of nutrients grows like a charm. i will try and salvage wtv i have in my tank, as much as possible. funny enough, some of the plantlets are growing green, some losing leaves, suggests nutrient deficiency. none of them has reproduced yet. currently there are only 15 plantlets in my tank. will continue counting for the next few times i post to tell if they are reproducing/surviving or not.

just an update on its habitat... it not there anymore. the whole pool has been polluted with construction material. i havent went down to the pool for a check but the plants shudnt be there anymore.


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