Pennywort
Contents:
- Re:Pennywort
by krombhol-at-felix.TECLink.Net (Paul Krombholz) (Fri, 22 Sep 1995)
- Glastnost and Pennywort
by krandall-at-world.std.com (Karen A Randall) (Fri, 22 Sep 1995)
- PENNYWORT
by George Booth <booth/hpmtlgb1.lvld.hp.com> (Fri, 31 Oct 1997)
- Hydrocotyle
by "Roger S. Miller" <rgrmill/rt66.com> (Mon, 23 Nov 1998)
- H.verticillata
by "II, Thomas Barr" <tcbiii/earthlink.net> (Mon, 27 Mar 2000)
by krombhol-at-felix.TECLink.Net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995
>------------------------------
>
>From: "Edmund C. Hack" <echack-at-crl.com>
>Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 07:44:52 -0700 (PDT)
>Subject: Sources for pennywort/ID questions
>
>I am currently messing around with a 10 gal. planted tank, trying things
>until I can get a space set up for a proper (75 gal or so) plant tank. I
>have a couple of plant questions. One plant I have seen in some of the
>Tetra books is Pennywort. Is there a US source of this? I would like to
>establish some at the front of the tank as a carpet.
<remainder snipped>
There are two species of pennywort grown in aquaria, Hydrocotyle
leucocephala and Hydrocotyle verticillata. The first species has a
horizontal stem that doesn't ascend to the surface. Its leaves are round
and the petiole comes from the center of the leaf. The second sends a
stem with leaves up to the surface and the leaves have a vee-shaped cut
into the center, where the petiole attaches. I have seen verticillata in
several fish stores, one in San Diego, California and one in Providence,
Rhode Island. I have verticillata, but just a small plant of it right now,
because I was growing it emersed, and someone knocked the cover off of the
gallon jar it was in, and it all dried up, except for about a half inch
fragment of stem. I finally was able to coax a tiny leaf out of the end of
the stem, and now I have a plant about three inches long with about four or
five leaves. Verticillata grows well submersed for me, but it needs a
little supplemantal CO2 before I get good, rapid growth. It needs to be
pruned frequently to keep it from covering the surface. It is very pretty
if it is kept from reaching the surface.
As far as leucocephala, I have been looking for it in tropical fish stores
for many years without success, and then the gradual realization came to me
that it has been underfoot, literally, all the time, growing as a weed in
my lawn. I'm sure that is what I have; it looks just like the pictures in
Rataj & Horeman or in Muhlberg. I havn't got around to trying to grow it
underwater yet.
Paul Krombholz Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174
by krandall-at-world.std.com (Karen A Randall)
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995
Pennywort (Hydrocotyle) is available in this country. If you
can't find it from a mail order supplier, try your local Aquarium
Society. It often trades hands between hobbyists. Someone on the
list might even have some. ;-)
HOWEVER, the Hydrocotyle usually available is H. leucocephala,
which is really a floating plant. You can pin it down
temporarily, but it usually finds its way back to the surface
before too long. The other species sometimes seen are H.
verticillata and vulgaris. Neither are really tropical plants,
and do better in cooler water. Vulgaris will remain rooted, but
sends long stems up to the top of the water with its leaves.
Verticillata stays a little shorter, but it still wouldn't be one
of my choices for a foreground plant. In fact, H. leucocephala is
more attractive all the way around.
> Secondly, I bought a plant IDed at the store as "Pusillia sp.".
> plant with grasslike leaves about 3-5 mm across and 40-50 mm lon
> know what it might be?
Sounds more like a species name than a generic name to me. There
are several small grass like plants. We can guess better if we
know the root structure and how it was sold (potted, separate
plants, etc.)
by George Booth <booth/hpmtlgb1.lvld.hp.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997
> Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:47:20 +0800
> From: Michael Cordero <taburnok-at-skyinet.net>
>
> CAN ANYBODY GIVE ME FEEDBACK ON A PLANT CALLED PENNYWORT..
> just to describe its got a round leaf .. one per stem.. and a round
> meaty stem...
OK, I HEAR YOU! (Note: All caps is interpretted as yelling!)
Hydrocotyle leucocephala is known as "Brazilian Pennywort". It seems
to do well under most conditions but bright light and CO2 makes it a
very fast grower. It does well for us in both 76 F and 84 F tanks.
We like to plant one end and have it grow to the top then trail across
the surface. The bright green leaves make a great accent plant. Check
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 09:09:34 -0700
From: George Booth <booth-at-hpmtlgb1.lvld.hp.com>
Subject: Re: PENNYWORT
> Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 14:47:20 +0800
> From: Michael Cordero <taburnok-at-skyinet.net>
>
> CAN ANYBODY GIVE ME FEEDBACK ON A PLANT CALLED PENNYWORT..
> just to describe its got a round leaf .. one per stem.. and a round
> meaty stem...
OK, I HEAR YOU! (Note: All caps is interpretted as yelling!)
Hydrocotyle leucocephala is known as "Brazilian Pennywort". It seems
to do well under most conditions but bright light and CO2 makes it a
very fast grower. It does well for us in both 76 F and 84 F tanks.
We like to plant one end and have it grow to the top then trail across
the surface. The bright green leaves make a great accent plant. Check
my web page for photos. It's in the middle of the Angelfish photo on
the the "Plants" page and the "Photo Album" page.
However, H. leucocephala has a thin stem and leaves around 1" in
diameter. We also have a larger variety called Hydrocotyle
ranunculoides with leaves about 2" in diameter and a thicker stem.
Besides the size, the H. leucocephala has a distinct notch on the
leaves where the petiole attaches. In the H. ranunculoides, the edges
of the leaves by the petiole overlap.
Both plants will get clumps of roots where each petiole meets the
stem. The H. ranunculoides gets huge clumps of roots!
George Booth in Ft. Collins, Colorado (booth-at-fii.com)
by "Roger S. Miller" <rgrmill/rt66.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998
On Mon, 23 Nov 1998, Kelly Beard wrote:
> I've seen pictures of the "pond penny" plant, Hydrocotyle ? in Amano's
> books, and he has it growing like a vine on the substrate surface. Is this
> the natural way for it to grow? Mine kinda grow stem-like, but I've always
> wondered about it because it has short roots at the leaf nodes, maybe
> hinting that it normally grows like a vine.
Well, it would be natural for it to vine when emersed, or when grown in
a stream where the current keeps the stem pushed to the substrate.
Otherwise, the stem is just that - a lighter-than-water stem, not a runner.
I'm trying now to grow it as a forground plant, and it's working pretty
well. The stem does tend to rise off the substrate, but it doesn't turn
and grow straight up, it grows along the surface, rising at a low angle.
If you want to convert your vertically-growing plants to grow
horizontally at the substrate, first trim the stems and let them float
for a few days. The leaves all turn parallel to the water surface and
that makes it a lot easier to plant the stems horizontally.
When the stems are ready to plant you may need to weigh them down to the
substrate until they're well rooted. I use pebbles; the hydrocotyle
leaves are large enough and close enough together that the pebbles are
hidden from view. The older parts of the stem eventually root firmly and
you can move the pebbles to weigh down the new growth. Stems can also be
woven so they hold each other down.
My hydrocotyle (leucocephala, I think) branches very reluctantly, and it's
become necessary to trim off growing ends and replant them to thicken the
coverage.
The plants produce a very nice effect, but I could stand it if the leaves
grew on longer petioles, so stood above the substrate a little more.
Maybe that would happen with less light (they're currently growing in the
open under 4 40-watt fluorescents in a 55 gallon tank); maybe that will
happen as a second generation of leaves grows through the first one.
We'll see.
Roger Miller
by "II, Thomas Barr" <tcbiii/earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000
>I'd also ordered hydrocotyle verticillata. I have h. leucocephala, which
>grows up vertically, with leafs and nodes spaced rather closely. I'd thought
>that h. verticillata was similar, with a different leaf shape. What I got was
>long, thick stems, with one or two nodes with perhaps 5 inches in between,
>and 1 leaf on the end of each stem.
That's the stuff. We have acres and acres of the stuff here in Marin,CA. One
of the most common weeds of aquatic nature here.
You may find it difficult to grow under water but it is possible. It's more
a bog/floating pond plant. Cooler waters help and strong light.
FWIW
Regards,
Tom Barr
The Krib
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