# Plant ID, calling all Cavans



## jetajockey (Nov 11, 2010)

Any idea on this one? I"m stumped, found it floating one day in a tank that has had all kinds of traffic including a lot of native plants and fish, so no telling where it came from. It started out as 3 little leaves that turned red floating under some t8s, potted it and 3 months later it's grown out quite well via aquaponics.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

That's a _Hypericum_ (St. John's wort- family Hypericaceae, formerly Clusiaceae). Identifying it to species isn't possible yet, but if you let it go you'll probably get flowers/fruit later. Where are you?

I found what was probably _H. ellipticum_ in CT a while back and kept it going submersed for a while. I don't think that's what you have, but a few are possibly suitable, including _H. boreale_, though the latter might not like warmer water.


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## jetajockey (Nov 11, 2010)

Thanks man you are a plant genie.

I'm in the florida panhandle. I have a little bit of it submersed now for about a week and the new growth looks very narrow and lanky.


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## Lakeplants (Feb 21, 2011)

_Hypericum boreale_ immediately came to mind when I saw the first photo. The genus is certainly right - I don't know enough about the native species of _Hypericum_ in Florida though.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Lakeplants said:


> _Hypericum boreale_ immediately came to mind when I saw the first photo. The genus is certainly right - I don't know enough about the native species of _Hypericum_ in Florida though.


That's what I thought of too; I don't think there are a great many with parallel veins. But he's way out of range. The Florida panhandle is great for other things though!


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Cavan Allen said:


> I found what was probably _H. ellipticum_ in CT a while back and kept it going submersed for a while.


I almost always find it associated with Gratiola aurea, which probably says a lot...


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## jetajockey (Nov 11, 2010)

It's in full bloom now, and has gotten massive so it's going to get a huge haircut. I'll get a photo in a few minutes and post it when I get back.


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## jetajockey (Nov 11, 2010)

Ok here's the 3 month update photos.


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## herns (Aug 28, 2007)

jetajockey said:


> Thanks man you are a plant genie.


Agree!


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Also in Europe there are some wetland Hypericums, e.g. H. tetrapterum or H. elodes, but I believe nobody here would come up with the idea of putting them in a tank.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

miremonster said:


> I believe nobody here would come up with the idea of putting them in a tank.


This was true for many a plant in the past, until somebody decided to be the first to do so. LOL

Sometimes those long shot plants pay off, right?


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Yeah, and I think there's still a number of European wetland plants except the few classical ones (pennywort, Hottonia palustris, ...) that would be suitable not only for cold water tanks.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

miremonster said:


> Also in Europe there are some wetland Hypericums, e.g. H. tetrapterum or H. elodes, but I believe nobody here would come up with the idea of putting them in a tank.


I'm borrowing a Japanese aquarium plant book from someone in our club to update/correct the names and noticed that _H. elodes_ is in it. Can't read the text, unfortunately.


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

Cavan Allen said:


> I'm borrowing a Japanese aquarium plant book from someone in our club to update/correct the names and noticed that _H. elodes_ is in it. Can't read the text, unfortunately.


Oh cool - what's the name of the book? Have u tried any of those translation apps? I used CamDictionary to translate the 3rd edition of Kasselmann's 'Aquarienpflanzen'... Worked pretty well to get the gist of what she was saying. Maybe it'd work for your Japanese book?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I'll try.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Cavan Allen said:


> I'm borrowing a Japanese aquarium plant book from someone in our club to update/correct the names and noticed that _H. elodes_ is in it.


 Once more the Japanese are ahead... I didn't see the Hypericum elodes in the wild, only cultivated in the Bot. Garden Göttingen (don't know if it's still there, the aquatic plant collection is much reduced and in bad state now), and I couldn't imagine that hairy plant growing submerged...
Some European (partly occurring elsewhere) plants that come in my mind, suitable for tanks, as far as I've seen:
- Gratiola officinalis
- some Callitriche of the C. vernalis complex
- Baldellia ranunculoides (2 subspecies)
- Veronica catenata
- Persicaria hydropiper (permanently?) and some other P. I couldn't ID with certainty
- Potamogeton crispus, P. gramineus
- Sparganium emersum
- Galium palustre
- Mentha cervina = Preslia cervina


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