# Help with photo IDs



## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

Need some help with IDs. These were around a 15 acre pond in a park in Collierville, TN. The first two I'm thinking are Ludwigias. The third I have no idea. I also found a fourth that looked like a fully green version of the first with a perfect dark spot in the center of each leaf. I'm going to go back and get photos of that too. Lots of hairgrass here too. The entire lake has a 1 to 3 foot band of it all the way around out of water and about the same in the water.

Would appreciate help in nailing these down.

Thanks


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

So nobody has any idea what these are?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

#1 looks like it could be _Ludwigia decurrens_ (NOT _L. glandulosa_), which probaly isn't suitable for aquaria, though it could be.

#2 _Rotala ramosior_ in the middle (red stem) and _Bacopa rotundifolia_ on the left (white and yellow flowers).

#3 is an _Ammannia_ species. I can't say for sure which one from the photo. A closeup of the inflorescence/flowers/fruit would help.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks Cavan! It's crazy that this place is right in the middle of a city. They have some really nice parks here. Pretty much all of them have ponds/lakes that are covered up with aquatic plants. 

I'll get some closeups of the flowers on #3. I am also going to get photos of the fourth one I found. 

I really appreciate it.

Don


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Is the "dark spot" in the center of the leaves of your photoless plant roughly heart- or chevron-shaped? If so, it might be a _Persicaria _species. Many of them have darkish markngs in the middles of their leaves. The photo would be very helpful, though; we can only speculate without it.

That Bacopa is really pretty, though... Cavan, any idea if it grows submersed?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

It should.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

asukawashere said:


> Is the "dark spot" in the center of the leaves of your photoless plant roughly heart- or chevron-shaped? If so, it might be a _Persicaria _species. Many of them have darkish markngs in the middles of their leaves. The photo would be very helpful, though; we can only speculate without it.


I don't remember it being heart shaped. I'll get photos either tonight or tomorrow morning and post them. I'm going to try all four of them submersed - possibly emersed as well. All of this is inches from the water edge so emersed shouldn't be any issue at all. I'm also going to post some photos of some other plants I have to make certain what they are. What I think is Ludwigia palustris may be L. repens.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

Well, I'm angry this morning. I got up at 6:00 to go out and collect some of the plants and they had taken a weedeater to all of it. They literally scalped the entire edge of the lake. Even the hair grass that was out of the water was scalped to dirt. I got some of the Rotala and some of the Ammannia sp. They were near a culvert they missed. I also found one stem of the one with the spots. It is heart shaped. So based on the above conversation, I assume it is Persicaria?

I'll post pics in a bit. 

Don


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Bummer! I don't know why people feel the need to do that.

Could be _Persicaria_, yes.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

First of all I want to say I have some algae issues going on so some of my plants look really rough when you look at them in a closeup. But that's another discussion for another thread. Here are pics of the stuff I collected. I also have a piece of junk camera so the photo quality is not good.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

Here is a full shot of the 55 gallon. Gotta clean the filter intake from the planting.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

It looks like that's probably _Ammannia coccinea_, but I can't be sure. I was hoping to see the petals. Were they dark purple?

I had some of that one time. It grew submersed, but never ever grew side shoots and really just seemed to want to get to the surface. Your mileage may vary.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

The petals are more of a true red. No purple at all. All of the wild stuff I collect just shoots for the top. I just trim and replant to build up.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Yeah, that could still be it. There is some variability in petal color, but as long as they aren't larger and light pink, it's not _Ammannia robusta_.

Did you get any of the _Bacopa rotundifolia_?


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

Cavan Allen said:


> Yeah, that could still be it. There is some variability in petal color, but as long as they aren't larger and light pink, it's not _Ammannia robusta_.
> 
> Did you get any of the _Bacopa rotundifolia_?


Nope. It was gone. The whole area where I took those photos was scalped to the dirt.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

The 4th photo in post #10, with the reddish heart-shaped marks I mentioned, is definitely a _Persicaria_ sp. - the red heart-shaped marks aren't the defining characteristic of the genus (the sheath around the base of the leaf petiole, called an ocrea, is the most notable feature), but the markings are common and fairly distinct.

As for which species we're looking at, that's Cavan's territory, but I can confirm it's a _Persicaria_. In any case, if you found it close to the water it's likely one of the varieties that will do well submersed.

As for the Bacopa, that's really too bad. It was a lovely little plant  The lawnmowing crews that mow down water banks like that are always far too indiscriminate - they end up making the scenery uglier by whacking everything to death.


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

asukawashere said:


> The 4th photo in post #10, with the reddish heart-shaped marks I mentioned, is definitely a _Persicaria_ sp. - the red heart-shaped marks aren't the defining characteristic of the genus (the sheath around the base of the leaf petiole, called an ocrea, is the most notable feature), but the markings are common and fairly distinct.
> 
> As for which species we're looking at, that's Cavan's territory, but I can confirm it's a _Persicaria_. In any case, if you found it close to the water it's likely one of the varieties that will do well submersed.
> 
> As for the Bacopa, that's really too bad. It was a lovely little plant  The lawnmowing crews that mow down water banks like that are always far too indiscriminate - they end up making the scenery uglier by whacking everything to death.


I know. I feel the same way. We have a pretty open and responsive city government here. They are usually very nature and eco friendly. I am going to call today and suggest that they leave anything below the normal water line alone from now on and explain that the plants would eventually end up under water and enriching the lake for local fishermen and others who enjoy the lake. Doesn't hurt to try.

I planted the Persicaria in my 55 gallon. It is doing really well. It is reaching for the surface but very healthy looking. The Rotala, on the other hand, is holding its color well but hasn't opened its leaves since being planted in the tank on Saturday. The Ammannia sp I collected is a sad specimen. I put it in the tank as well. It is open and hold it's color very well. It had some rough looking leaves. Hoping it will take hold and replace all of that with some fresh new growth. All in all, still pretty happy with what I was able to get.

Don


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## donh1298 (Aug 4, 2011)

*Re: Help with photo IDs - Update*

Wanted to post an update to this thread.

Cavan, the Ammannia sp has pink flowers. It is growing well submerged in the 55 and also emersed.

The Rotala ramosior is growing really well submerged in all of my tanks. This lake is covered up with the stuff. If anyone is interested in getting any, I'll be more than happy to collect some. It grows different than the other Rotala I've seen. It has a main stem and then branches off of that. So each plant can be pretty wide with four or five branches off the main stem. The red is gorgeous on this plant.

The Persicaria sp was starting to look a little less than happy. I moved it to a spot where it could get more direct light and it perked up and started growing again. It is yet to be seen if it will grow out any versus straight up. The emersed stems are growing well. Lots of new growth on a small stem.

The Ludwigia is just like all other Ludwigia. It is growing up and out of the tank! I will be trimming some and replanting it this week to try to get some thickness to the bunch. It is growing ok emersed but doing the worst of all so far.

Found another new one. I'll post pics. It is in one of the tanks and doing well so far. It is a very small sample.

I have looked everywhere for the Bacopa. I can't find it anywhere. I will keep searching and update if I find any.


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