Photo: KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Anchored water hyacinth
Eichhornia azurea (Sw.) Kunth
—
Height in the aquarium
medium to high
Light
medium
CO₂ needs
15–24 °C
Ideal temperature
Water parameters
Understand these values- Position
- background, midground, floating
- Propagation
- cuttings
- Uses
- open-top tank
- Grows emersed
- yes
In the wild
Overview
Underwater, its long, narrow leaves line up on each side of the stem, giving the shoot the look of a palm frond. This American plant looks very different at the surface, with spoon-shaped aerial leaves. Its outline is best shown off as a specimen plant in a large tank.
- Scientific name
- Pontederia azurea Current valid name; in the hobby: Eichhornia azurea
- Classification
- Commelinales › Pontederiaceae
- IUCN Red List
- Not evaluated (NE)
Natural habitat
Tropical and subtropical America, from Mexico to Argentina, and the West Indies
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Introduced in Rivers and lakes
- Native countries
- Introduced by people
Outside its native range, in 3 countries:
An aquarium plant must never reach the wild: throwing away cuttings or emptying a tank into a stream can be enough to establish it.
Countries: Kew World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP). Dots: GBIF observations in the native countries.
In the aquarium
Growing in the aquarium
Provide a tall aquarium and space around the shoots; the submerged leaves are fragile and do not like being crushed during planting. Take cuttings of the tops before they reach the surface if you want to keep the aquatic form. A top that has already grown aerial leaves may keep producing that form after replanting.
Sources:Flowgrow GBIF POWO (Kew) · Base map: Natural Earth