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Marsilea

Contents:

  1. Marsilea
    by "Bruce Hansen" <bhansen/ozemail.com.au> (Mon, 29 Dec 1997)
  2. of Mud and Marsilea
    by "Roger S. Miller" <rgrmill/rt66.com> (Mon, 19 Oct 1998)
  3. Marsilea
    by "Jacques" <jgerber/Rhobot.ru.ac.za> (Fri, 1 Jan 1999)
  4. South African Marsilea
    by Piabinha/aol.com (Sun, 3 Jan 1999)
  5. South African Marsilea
    by "Jacques" <jgerber/Rhobot.ru.ac.za> (Tue, 5 Jan 1999)
  6. South African Marsilea; Marsilea cultivation
    by Piabinha/aol.com (Tue, 5 Jan 1999)
  7. Marsilea
    by "Bruce Hansen" <bhansen/ozemail.com.au> (Wed, 6 Jan 1999)
  8. South African Marsilea; Marsilea cultivation
    by "Jacques" <jgerber/Rhobot.ru.ac.za> (Mon, 11 Jan 1999)
  9. Marsilea crenata or quadrifolia?
    by "Darren R. Gold" <dargol/email.msn.com> (Tue, 19 Jan 1999)
  10. RE: Marsilea
    by "James Purchase" <jpurch/interlog.com> (Thu, 11 Mar 1999)
  11. Marsilea -Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #904
    by "Bruce Hansen" <bhansen/ozemail.com.au> (Sun, 14 Mar 1999)
  12. Four Leafed Clover - Marsilea sp.
    by "Wood, Tom" <Tom.Wood/ci.austin.tx.us> (Tue, 16 Mar 1999)


Marsilea sp.


Marsilea

by "Bruce Hansen" <bhansen/ozemail.com.au>
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997

Roger Miller asked about Marsilea

In Australia we have about 5 species of varying diameter and height. They
seem to prefer a marginal position in the wild and in deeper water develop
floating leaves. When I planted mine in an aquarium they became much
shorter and tended to develop a variable leaf form ( i.e. not always the
typical 4-leaf clover appearance) and had a tendency to send runners in all
directions. I think they would tend to quickly leave the driftwood even if
they strted there OK

You can trim them without harm. If you wish to get them back to 15 cm you
may need to put them in a pot in your garden pond. 

Regards,
Bruce.
bhansen-at-ozemail.com.au


of Mud and Marsilea

by "Roger S. Miller" <rgrmill/rt66.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998

Steve Pushak wrote re foreground plants:
...

> Another plant which I would like to recommend is Marsilea, the so-called
> 4 leaf clover plant. It spreads in much the same way as Lilleaopsis but
> can grow in much lower light. It only has the distinctive 4 leaf form
> when grown emersed (how it is grown for sale). Submerged it has a single
> ovate leaf but it looks (I am told) very much like a grove of
> Glossostigma.

Someone floated a letter last week asking about Marsilea, with reference
to a specific species that I'm not familiar with, so I didn't respond.

I have a Marsilea sp. fully submersed in two of my tanks.  In one tank it
produces plants with one-, three- and (mostly) four-lobed leaves.  In the
other tank the plants have one-lobed leaves; the leaf has the form of an
inverted gravy ladel.

The plants are tough and wirey and very interesting looking.  And as Steve
said, they grow very well in shaded areas.  The plants are especially nice
when they have 3 and 4 lobed-leaves when they offer more to look at than
say, Lileaopsis or E. tenellus.

In my tanks the growth seems unpredictable.  The plants will sit without
apparent growth for weeks, then suddenly put out a burst of growth -
doubling or tripling in size in a week or so - followed by another dormant
period.  In all cases when I first transplanted the Marsilea it remained
largely dormant for a while afterwords.


Marsilea

by "Jacques" <jgerber/Rhobot.ru.ac.za>
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1999

Hello All: 
 
> Not me.  I have almost no experience with Marsilea sp. (aside from a small
> patch that was given to me by Steve Pushak and is growing in a dish on a
> windowsill)  I'm pretty sure it's not a S.A. plant though.  I thought most
> species were from Australia, NG and NZ.  
> 
> Aside from that, I'd take anything in Rataj with a grain of salt unless it
> were corroborated elsewhere.

I believe the S.A being refered to is South Australia. Can get 
confusing at times. As it happens though, Marsilea occurs in South 
Africa. My ex found it growing in a natural pond near Port Alfred on 
the South African coast. The local Herbarium does not have a 
specimen, although specimens from this pond do reside with the 
National Botanical Institute in Pretoria. gotta go and get soem for 
the coldwater tank sometime.

Jacques

___________________________________________________

Jacques Gerber
Botany Department
Rhodes University
Grahamstown
6140
South Africa

Dept Tel#: 046 6038596
Dept Fax#: 046 6225524
Home Tel#: 046 6225000
___________________________________________________


South African Marsilea

by Piabinha/aol.com
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999

at the brooklyn botanic garden, Marsilea schelpiana is grown in the aquatic
house.  the label says native of south africa.

tsuh yang chen, nyc


South African Marsilea

by "Jacques" <jgerber/Rhobot.ru.ac.za>
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999

Hello Karen and All:

The species of Marsilea found in my part of South Africa is Marsilea 
macrocarpa. Apparently we have several species, of which none are in 
cultivation. I'm also growing Riccia sp and Lagarosiphon sp, while a 
friend has a Potamageton sp that's quite attractive. There's also a 
nice species of Isoetes which I need to collect some time. 

Jacques


South African Marsilea; Marsilea cultivation

by Piabinha/aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999

In a message dated 1/5/1999 3:49:49 PM Eastern Standard Time, Aquatic-Plants-
Owner@actwin.com writes:

> The species of Marsilea found in my part of South Africa is Marsilea 
>  macrocarpa. Apparently we have several species, of which none are in 
>  cultivation. 
	
hi jacques et al,

from your previous description, i knew taht the species you were talking about
was not schelpiana, which is smaller and has narrower "fronds" or "leaves"
(sorry, my fern terminology is not so up to date).  it would be great to get
some macrocarpa introduced into the hobby, it sounds like a great plant, with
large floating leaves.

anyone knows where i can find info on cultivating Marsileas?  my friend at the
botanic garden gave me some but they are not doing well in my 10 gallon tank
(very acidic and soft water, fine gravel substrate).

tsuh yang chen, nyc


Marsilea

by "Bruce Hansen" <bhansen/ozemail.com.au>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999

>Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 16:01:58 EST
>From: Piabinha@aol.com
>Subject: South African Marsilea; Marsilea cultivation
>
>from your previous description, i knew taht the species you were talking
about
>was not schelpiana, which is smaller and has narrower "fronds" or "leaves"
>(sorry, my fern terminology is not so up to date).  it would be great to
get
>some macrocarpa introduced into the hobby, it sounds like a great plant,
with
>large floating leaves.
>
>anyone knows where i can find info on cultivating Marsileas?  my friend at
the
>botanic garden gave me some but they are not doing well in my 10 gallon
tank
>(very acidic and soft water, fine gravel substrate).
>
>tsuh yang chen, nyc
>


I grow 4 (perhaps 5) of the 5 native species of Marsileas found here in
Australia. Most seem to be marginals that grow into the water and want to
float if the water is deeper than a few inches or erect/emerse if shallower.
They aren't too fussy about temperature but prefer a fertile substrate (with
some nitrogen) and plenty of light, They grow very well for me outside in
full to half sun in shallow trays of mud with about 2" of water. They also
do well in floating styro trays in my pool and trail into the water.

The only one i grow in aquaria is M. angustifolia (the shortest, smallest
and narrowest of them) and as Mr Amano has demonstarted it carpets nicely,
but not as densely as Glosso but needs Co2 and bright light to do well. I
feel that ph around neutral (6.5 to 7.5) should be OK. In aquaria the
quadrifoliate form of the fronds changes to uni or sometimes bilobate.



Regards,
Bruce.

Bruce Hansen, A.N.G.F.A., Advancing Australian Aquatics.

Bruce Hansen, ANGFA, caring for our aquatic ecosystems.

Please visit us at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fisher/angfa.htm


South African Marsilea; Marsilea cultivation

by "Jacques" <jgerber/Rhobot.ru.ac.za>
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999

Hello All:

> from your previous description, i knew taht the species you were talking about
> was not schelpiana, which is smaller and has narrower "fronds" or "leaves"
> (sorry, my fern terminology is not so up to date).  it would be great to get
> some macrocarpa introduced into the hobby, it sounds like a great plant, with
> large floating leaves.
> 
> anyone knows where i can find info on cultivating Marsileas?  my friend at the
> botanic garden gave me some but they are not doing well in my 10 gallon tank
> (very acidic and soft water, fine gravel substrate).

Well, considering that they're growing in a natural pond, on a yellow 
clay substrate, and the pond is in a cow pasture, and is regularily 
fertilised by run-off, I suspect they like nitrates and a fine 
clay substrate.

Jacques
___________________________________________________

Jacques Gerber
Botany Department
Rhodes University
Grahamstown
6140
South Africa

Dept Tel#: 046 6038596
Dept Fax#: 046 6225524
Home Tel#: 046 6225000
___________________________________________________


Marsilea crenata or quadrifolia?

by "Darren R. Gold" <dargol/email.msn.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999

A follow up to my last post on this topic.

I took a look at Arizona Aquatics web site, and they sell both M. crenata
and M. quadrifolia.  Crenata is listed as Dwarf Four-leaf clover while
quadrifolia is listed as simply Four-leaf clover.  My understanding was that
M. quadrifolia would still tend to grow higher and attempt to throw surface
leaves, while crenata would not and would remain a more docile carpet plant.

Darren


RE: Marsilea

by "James Purchase" <jpurch/interlog.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999

>Subject: Info on Marsilea quadrifolia (Four Leaved Water Clover)

Dave, I know of no online reference for this plant but here is the listing
from The Complete Book of Aquarium Plants by Allgayer and Teton (it's out of
print so I doubt anyone will mind). The comments in square brackets are mine
[???].

"Marsilea - this is a genus of amphibious ferns, similar to Pillularia and
Regnellidium. There are about 65 species with creeping rhizomes which divide
in the reproductive process. Very few of these species can be kept in an
aquarium; exceptions are Marsilea crenata, M. drummondii, M. exarata and,
less frequently, M. quadrifolia, though none of these is easy to maintain.
The leaves take various forms but are divided into four lobes; hence the
common name of Marsh Trefoil or Clover. M. quadrifolia is unfortunately
threatened with extinction in Europe.

These various species can only be told apart by their immersed form [???]
and their spores. When immersed, the leaves close up at night. The rhizome
creeps along the ground and produces a number of fronds which, if there is
sufficient light, will reach the surface of the water. Ideally, they should
be grown in reasonably soft water which is slightly acid. Eventually, the
plant will turn yellow and die soon afterwards. In a paludarium the fronds
grow slightly longer."

If you are looking for a source for these, I'd suggest that we are coming up
on the perfect time of year - I've seen them more often in pond catalogues
and nurseries than in aquarium stores. Most places will be stocking up
within the next few months for summer plant sales.

James Purchase
Toronto


Marsilea -Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #904

by "Bruce Hansen" <bhansen/ozemail.com.au>
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999

>
>Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 12:45:01 -0500
>From: "Alysoun McLaughlin" <alysoun.mclaughlin@ncsl.org>
>Subject: Re: Four Leafed Clover
>
>
>However, I talked with a friend who kept the plant (or perhaps a related
>sp.?) and she said "yeah, it did that in my tank... and slowly four leaves
>gave way to three leaves, then two leaves, then one leaf, and then I threw
>it away."  Anyone seen this in action, who might have suggestions on why
>this happened for her, or whether the shape of my new growth is typical?
>
>
>I have had great success growing Marsilea crenata in my 100 gallon show
>tank as carpeting foreground plant, for over a year with little effort.
>It is described by many suppliers as a bog plant, but is listed in the
>'Aquarium Plants Manual", by Ines Scheurmann as an aquatic. It is much
>more commonly found as an outdoor pond plant.

We have 4 native species of Marsilea often available here from pond plant
suppliers - the description above seems to me to best fit the submerse
foliage for M. angustifolia. This species is commonly featured as
"groundcover" in  Mr. Amano's aquascapes as distinct from Glossostigma
elatinoides. The emerse plant has appreciably narrower leaves than the
others and is a much smaller plant all round.



Regards,
Bruce.

Bruce Hansen, A.N.G.F.A., Advancing Australian Aquatics.

Bruce Hansen, ANGFA, caring for our aquatic ecosystems.

Please visit us at http://www.ozemail.com.au/~fisher/angfa.htm


Four Leafed Clover - Marsilea sp.

by "Wood, Tom" <Tom.Wood/ci.austin.tx.us>
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999

I don't know which species I have, but it also tends to grow single lobed
leaves. About 1 out of 20 leaves will be 3 or 4 lobed.  It had 3" petioles
at first but now grows only about 1" tall.  It spreads faster if you cut it
up into numerous runners after it gets going, otherwise it tends to grow one
runner from one end of the tank and back.  Mine is under MH light at 3 watts
per gallon (please don't make me convert this to PAR, lumens, candela, or
equivalent blue full moons) and grows in all but the darkest areas of the
substrate.  At the front of the tank it has formed a very nice carpet.  Our
water is moderately hard and the LFS reports that other aquarists here have
trouble with glosso, so marsilea is a nice alternative if you have harder
water.

Tom Wood
Austin, Texas.....soon to be the District of Travis if the idiots in our
legislature have their way.


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