# Samolus Parviflorus



## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

This plant has recently caught my eye, and I have been unable to find a lot of information on it. I even called my local pond supply store for more information, and he said I was the only one in 17 yrs to request it...
More commonly called Water Cabbage (not to be confused with Water Lettuce which is a floating plant)
Apparently it grows in small rosettes. Naturally it occurrs emerged, but can be grown submerged.

There has been little talk of this plant on the board, and I wonder why???
It seems to be a good plant for a foreground area as the leaves get no taller than 4"

I'm having a hard time figuring out where this little plant originates from. Some sources say North america, some say South America and some say Europe.

Does anyone else have more information about this plant?

Seems as though it has been collected in the U.S....
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...64-samolus.html?highlight=samolus+parviflorus

AquaSpot World - Aquarium Plants, Aquatic Plants, Aquarium Supply, Aquarium Fertilizers, Aquarium Tanks.

Samolus parviflorus page

Samolus parviflorus

Water Cabbage - Samolus parviflorus


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## Ghazanfar Ghori (Jan 27, 2004)

I've collected and grown this plant in the past. Its a nice plant, grows
fairly slow but non-demanding. Submerged, the leaves are a pale green
color. It forms daughter plants, but for me that took a while for it to do
and I only managed to get a single daughter plant from it. Moderate light
is sufficent for this plant. 

I remember Roger Miller also used it in one of his setups.


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## TWood (Dec 9, 2004)

George Booth has also used it. I asked him about it a couple of years ago and he was fighting a BBA outbreak at the time (happens to the best of us!) and didn't want to send any out like that. I never followed up. It does look like a nice plant and it's odd that it is in the Tropica catalog as Samolus valerandi but is not readily available.


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

does anyone have access to this plant?
I'd like to try it in my tank


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

It grows wild in Florida, in shallow water, along the edges of ponds. Another name for it is Samolus valerandi. According to Kasselmann it is a cosmopolitan plant, meaning it is found around the world and the origin is unknown.

It grows extemely slow submersed and needs intensive light. Although it grows in a rosette, a stalk will develop in the center which will bear plantlets. Its not like a runner, its very thick. It also tends to attract green spot algae on the leaves like anubias does. It has shallow roots and can be taken over by other plants rather easily, so it needs open spaces. It likes either cold or warm water, and seems to do well even with high salinity according to Kasselmann. I had it in very hard water, intensive light in a 100 gallon tank. (4watts/gallon) In a more shallow tank it would probably grow a little faster.


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## erik Loza (Feb 6, 2006)

Interesting. Samolus (don't know which species) is locally abundant here in the Texas Hill Country, but I only see it in shaded or filtered sunlight conditions. It is most commonly seen growing vertically, on clay soil ledges along the sides of cliffs. I'm planning a Hill Country biotope aquarium for next spring and will include lots of in-situ habitat shots with plants. Does anyone else have Samolus pics from elsewhere in the US?


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Here is where it grows naturally in the USA: When I said Florida, that was an understatement!










Here is a picture from Washington


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Well I had a map graphic from the USDA that showed the native range of this plant in the above post. I do not know why it disappeared, and I can no longer edit the post to fix it, so the hell with it. I don't remember the url either, but it showed the plant is in two thirds of all the states, and even puerto rico. Only the north central part of the country is excluded from its range.


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

thanks for the research! Maybe i'll find a local specimen. I live in northern Utah...


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