Hygrophila polysperma 'Big leaf'

Hygrophila polysperma

A selected form of the dwarf hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma), sold for years under the label 'Big leaf'; underwater it grows very fast and looks much like the ordinary species, with a brownish tint to the leaves in good light.

Light: low–high
Difficulty: very easy
Temperature: 4 – 35 °C (39 – 95 °F)

Leaf colour: green, pink or purple
Plant type: stem plant
Growth rate: very fast
Tolerates light: low – high
pH: 5 – 8
Carbonate hardness: 2 – 21 °dKH
General hardness: 0 – 30 °dGH
Placement: background, midground
Propagation: cuttings
Grows emersed: yes

Appearance

Above water it is relatively compact: short internodes, sturdy stems. Underwater it is relatively large and grows very fast; in good light the underwater leaves have a brownish tint. A few years ago it was mistaken for a Staurogyne and presented in the literature as an 'upright Staurogyne sp.'.

Keeping

As for the species: very easy, growth very fast, light from weak to strong, CO₂ 5–40 mg/l, temperature 22–28 °C.

Placement

The background and midground.

Trade names

It can be told apart from Staurogyne repens like this: Staurogyne has densely hairy above-water stems, both creeping and upright shoots underwater, grows slowly, and its young leaves stay light green even in strong light. 'Big leaf' has bare, glossy stems with hairs only at the nodes, only upright shoots underwater, very fast growth, and young leaves that turn reddish-brown in good light; its leaves contain cystoliths — small translucent streaks visible under a loupe held up to the light.

Water conditions match

The water suits 1008 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.

Swordtail Guppies Cobra Guppy Blood Red Molly Butterflyfish Red Zebra Cichlid Julii Corydoras Red-finned Parotocinclus Gastromyzon monticola Egg-shaped Goldfish Flame Tetra Gardner's Killifish African Tetra Kenyi Cichlid Cuckoo Catfish Golden Swordtail Hypsolebias picturatus Common Zacco Labeo Bicolor Gambusia Flying barb Gastromyzon scitulus Albino Zebra Danio Geophagus Brokopondo Zebra Mbuna

Will eat this plant

These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.

Bengal Loach Zebra Loach Burmese Border Loach Emperor Botia Spined Loach Marbled Headstander Pellegrin's Leporinus Leporinus striatus False Black Tetra Common Metynnis Mylossoma duriventre Red Whiptail Catfish Molly sphenops Balloon Molly Lyretail Molly Marble Molly Hi-Fin Platy Hawaii Platy Blue Platy Pintail Platy Black Platy Chocolate Molly Moonlight Gourami Melanotaenia parva

Will uproot it

These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.

Marble Loach Peacock Eel Forktail Loach Guntea Loach Long-nosed Loach Horseface Loach Pearlscale Black Moor Goldfish Shubunkin Painted Pleco Featherfin Synodontis Reddish Mystus Catfish Blue Acara Aulonocara maylandi Aulonocara multicolor Aulonocara Orchid Geophagus altifrons Geophagus winemilleri Pearlscale Cichlid Pearl Cichlid Redbelly Cichlid Red-spotted Cichlid Chuco godmanni Haplochromis philander Red Chromide Jack Dempsey cichlid

Matching water does not mean the fish will leave the plant alone.

Scientific and other names, conservation status

Other scientific names: Adenosma polysperma (Roxburgh) Sprengel, Hemiadelphis polysperma (Roxburgh) Nees, Justicia polysperma Roxburgh, Adenosma polysperma, Hemiadelphis polysperma, Hemiadelphis polysperma joshiana, Hemiadelphis polyspermus joshianus, Hemigraphis tonkinensis, Hygrophila polysperma albiflora, Justicia polysperma, Ruellia polysperma, Ruellia uliginosa
Hygrophila polysperma: (Roxb.) T.Anderson
Family: Acanthaceae
Conservation status: LC