# Guess this Plant!



## madmax (Sep 29, 2004)

For those of you who like the unusual, and like the challenge of making an I.D. here is stem plant that is almost never seen in the hobby. Can you guess what it is? Here are some clues. It spreads via rhizomes, and produces a solitary terminal inflorescence per stem.

While you're at it, guess what the foreground plant is. Also almost never seen in the hobby. It's hard to see in the picture, but it actually has alternate tiny scale like leaves and spreads via rhizomes.

Enjoy!

Tim Gross


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Ugh. I thought for sure I'd be able to get these. But I have no clue. I recognize the foreground plant...is that one that AaronT collected a few years ago?


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## mathman (Feb 12, 2014)

Looks like pogostemon erectus


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

mathman said:


> Looks like pogostemon erectus


Nope.


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## abrooks12376 (Jul 22, 2014)

Some type erio?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

abrooks12376 said:


> Some type erio?


Nope


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## madmax (Sep 29, 2004)

davemonkey said:


> Ugh. I thought for sure I'd be able to get these. But I have no clue. I recognize the foreground plant...is that one that AaronT collected a few years ago?


Yes, I do believe he did. I collected this over the summer. Which brings me to my next clue, both of these plants are native to the U.S. east coast.

Later,

Tim


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Spiders from Mars..........Myriophyllum tenellum <<<< The stick like plant. Not sure about the large plant. Perhaps a pogostemon species


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## Sjb1987 (Aug 2, 2011)

Pogostemon stellatus narrow leaf?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Aaron wasn't on that trip, but yes, the small one is _Myriophyllum tenellum_.

Not _Pogostemo_n. Remember, this is a native plant.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Is it in the Hydrocharitaceae family?


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

Not that I have a clue, I'll take a guess and see if my Google foo is strong.... Didiplis diandra (Blood Stargrass / Water Hedge).


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Newt said:


> Is it in the Hydrocharitaceae family?


It is not.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Tugg said:


> Not that I have a clue, I'll take a guess and see if my Google foo is strong.... Didiplis diandra (Blood Stargrass / Water Hedge).


Also no.

We never said this would be easy. 

No guess Heiko?


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Callitriche terrestris ?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Newt said:


> Callitriche terrestris ?


Not that. The answer may require some research.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Myriophyllum pinnatum ?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Newt said:


> Myriophyllum pinnatum ?


Nein!

Not anything from families for any of the guesses so far including:
Hydrocharitaceae
Eriocaulaceae
Lythraceae
Haloragaceae
Plantaginaceae
Lamiaceae


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## aquarium kid (Nov 26, 2012)

Not sure what they are but they both look like awesome plants.


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Nesaea pedicellata


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## madmax (Sep 29, 2004)

Some good guesses here, but nobody got the stem yet. Newt, got the foreground plant. It is indeed Myriophyllum tenellum. Here are a some more clues along with what we have so far:

The genus of this plant has only one species (Monotypic)
The leaves are whorled
It produces a purple, terminal, campanulate, or hemispheric inflorescence
It spreads through rhizomes
It is native to the eastern U.S. and is not normally found north of North Carolina, however it can be found as far north as New Hampshire.

This is definitely a hard one. I personally have not heard of the genus until Cavan pointed it out on a collecting trip. I hope everyone is having a little fun trying to figure this one out! I'll unveil it's identity tomorrow evening if no one gets it by then.

Later,

Tim


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Lythrum salicaria ?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Newt said:


> Lythrum salicaria ?


No dice. Anyway, that's in one of the excluded families.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Cavan has no mercy. LOL.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Cavan Allen said:


> No dice. Anyway, that's in one of the excluded families.


Its an invasive weed around my area.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Michael said:


> Cavan has no mercy. LOL.


Because I am hard, you will not like me! But the more you hate me the more you will learn!


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Sclerolepis uniflora, Pink Bogbutton!?
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Sclerolepis+uniflora


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

miremonster said:


> Sclerolepis uniflora, Pink Bogbutton!?
> http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Sclerolepis+uniflora


You got it. Very good! Tim can comment more on culture, hopefully.


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

Yippie  Fortunately there's a lot of information about North American plants in the web, so I could find it by googling for e.g. "North America Aquatic Verticillate Monotypic", and I remembered some odd aquatic composites in Cook, "Aquatic Plant Book".
Really astonishing, that diversity of aquarium-suited wetland plants in the southeastern U.S.


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## madmax (Sep 29, 2004)

Great job Heiko and Newt!

The Sclerolepis uniflora can be a bit finicky and will stunt if it doesn't get enough light. Since it looks so much like Pogostemon, and is more work to grow, I don't see it ever catching on in the hobby as a staple plant. However, for those of us that just like to grow and keep the rare and unusual, it's definitely a nice plant to try. Like I stated before, it sends out rhizomes and new shoots will pop up here and there which is unusual for a stem plant. 

The Myriophyllum tenellum is a very neat plant. I love the fact that it looks like little asparagus growing from the substrate. The fact that it's a Myriophyllum is obviously very surprising. I haven't had any problems with it so far. It's a slow grower, and will take forever to form any type of carpet. I think that quality can make for a nice effect in an aquascape though. Maybe growing from some rock work into some sand. It was growing in sand in very acidic water where we collected it.

Here is some info on the tank:

I set this tank up to quarantine the plants that we collected because some of the plants were covered in algae, so it was pretty much just thrown together.

Tank: 20gallon
Light: 88watts T5 lights
KH ~32ppm
pH ~6.4
Pressurized CO2
Nutrients: daily micro and macro nutrients (modified EI)
substrate: flourite/oildry/pebbles (all I had at the time of setup)



Tim


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## Sjb1987 (Aug 2, 2011)

Excellent job heiko!


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