# Growing the local E. cordifolius submersed



## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Many of the local ditches in central Mississippi have Echinodorus cordifolius, and I always see it growing emersed.










I took part of a flower stalk that had a few small plants on it and I weighed it down with pebbles in one of my tanks. The little plants rooted and were growing nice underwater leaves with short petioles until the largest plant decided to try to produce a floating leaf. 









Perhaps I can dissuade the plant from trying to produce floating leaves if I keep cutting them off.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Subscribed.

I bet you are right about trimming the leaves off before they reach the surface. Though if you see it growing emersed always it doesn't bode well for becoming a submersed plant.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there are varieties of cordifolius that don't do this. I suspect that there is a lot of regional variety in how a species react to submersed conditions.

It has always interested me when a plant makes a switch from one form to another. These have to be forms that are controlled by different sets of genes, similar to the way many insects have larval forms and adult forms that are usually totally different like the caterpillar and the butterfly. When the organism mades the switch, one set of genes is inactivated and another set is activated. In the animal kingdom, we call it metamorphosis, and I don't know if there is a term for it in the plant kingdom, but metamorphosis would be appropriate there, too. You can never tell by looking at some emersed marsh plant whether or not it has the capability of producing an aquatic form. You just have to toss it overboard and see if it can swim. I once had _E. uruguayensis_---the green narrow leaved variety that looks to me quite different from the two other _E. uruguayensis_ varieties formerly called the red and the green horemannii. This plant suddenly made a switch from producing the narrow submersed leaves to producing oval floating leaves with petioles more than a yard long. I don't think this growth form has been seen by very many other people.

By the way, it was really interesting to see the smaller _E. cordifolius_ plant on the right get itself rooted. Originally it was an inch above the gravel, but when it got a few roots into the gravel it just pulled itself down somehow until the base of the plant was flush with the gravel surface. I have seen other plants 'plant themselves' the same way.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I think it'd be kinda cool to have a sword with floating leaves, but I'm weird like that...

Anyway, that's a really nice wild stand of cordi swords, and I'm totally jealous.  Interesting that they only seem to be emersed around there. Do you also have E. berteroi in your area? If so, how does that compare?


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I have not seen _E. berteroi_ in the Jackson, Mississippi area, and, looking at the map in Bonap's North American plant atlas, it is only reported in two counties in Mississippi and none in Alabama. On the other hand, it is all over the place in E. Texas and even gets up into one county in Wisconsin. Unusual distribution. I did have some _E. berteroi _a long time ago, and it goes through a succession of leaf types: strap-like submerged, then enlarged oval ends, submerged, then elongate oval leaves with petioles, submerged, then floating oval leaves, and finally cordate emersed leaves. The submersed leaves are translucent and quite pretty. They call it the cellophane sword.

The new leaf on my _cordifolius_ plant has made it to the surface, but has not yet managed to become floating.

If you want some baby cordifolius plants, it would be easy for me to send you a flower stalk with little plants on it.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Four days later, first floating leaf finished, Second one on the way up. I wonder what further plans this plant has, what further forms are hidden in its genome.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I'd pull of the floaters ruthlessly.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

That is, no doubt, the correct strategy, but I am going to wait and see what else this plant does.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Cavan Allen said:


> I'd pull of the floaters ruthlessly.


What'd the poor leaves ever do to you, huh!? :mrgreen:



HeyPK said:


> I have not seen _E. berteroi_ in the Jackson, Mississippi area, and, looking at the map in Bonap's North American plant atlas, it is only reported in two counties in Mississippi and none in Alabama. On the other hand, it is all over the place in E. Texas and even gets up into one county in Wisconsin. Unusual distribution. I did have some _E. berteroi _a long time ago, and it goes through a succession of leaf types: strap-like submerged, then enlarged oval ends, submerged, then elongate oval leaves with petioles, submerged, then floating oval leaves, and finally cordate emersed leaves. The submersed leaves are translucent and quite pretty. They call it the cellophane sword.
> 
> The new leaf on my _cordifolius_ plant has made it to the surface, but has not yet managed to become floating.
> 
> If you want some baby cordifolius plants, it would be easy for me to send you a flower stalk with little plants on it.


Cellophane-like leaves sound very cool. While I'm not sure what any sword thinks it's doing in Wisconsin, I have noticed many of them are very tolerant of cold weather. It's been abnormally warm here so far this winter, but nonetheless a week or two ago I found a random stray sword (probably a hybrid, though its label was missing) sitting in a bin outdoors... apparently I missed one when I thought I brought them all inside for the winter. Nonetheless, it was healthy and happy in what must have been 35-degree water, with overnight frosts.

Much as I would love to get my grubby mitts on some cordis, I don't think I have room for any more swords at the moment - most of my space is being taken up by German hybrids right now. Perhaps in the spring, when I can kick them outdoors and let them suck up light for free, I'll hit you up for some. Thanks for the offer, though!


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

The two smaller cordifolius plants have also made the switch to floating leaves. Has anybody else seen their cordifolius switch to floating leaves?


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Maybe we should start calling them "waterlily swordplants" :mrgreen:


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

All three cordifolius plants continue to produce floating leaves. I don't think that any other leaf type is going to be produced. Time to cut back all the floating leaves ruthlessly and see if I can force the plants back to making more submersed leaves.


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