Leaf colourgreen, red, pink or purple
Native range
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
stem plant red accent background midground Dutch street
Narrow leaves in deep wine red and purple on an upright stem. The colour is the whole point, and it comes from light — in the shade the plant simply turns green.
- Light
- medium
- Difficulty
- medium
- Height
- 15 – 30 cm
- Temperature
- 10 – 27 °C
Parameters
Plant typestem plant
Growth ratemedium
CO₂ demandmedium
pH5 – 7
Carbonate hardness2 – 10 °dKH
General hardness0 – 30 °dGH
Placementred accent, background +2
Propagationseeds, cuttings
Grows emersedyes
Appearance
Long narrow leaves in pairs along a stem 15–30 cm tall, from olive to burgundy and violet. Groups of it read as a dark red block rather than a bright one.
Keeping
Moderate demands and slow growth: it wants medium light and carbon dioxide to grow properly, and light is also what holds the colour. Too little of it and the leaves go green and the lower ones drop, leaving a bare stem. The slow pace means fewer trims but also a slow recovery from mistakes.
Placement
The middle or back of the tank, in a group, as a dark accent among green plants.
Propagation
By cuttings: cut the top and plant it; the old stem branches below the cut.
Fish and this plant
Water conditions match
The water suits 816 of 1249 species in the catalogue — these are the ones people look up most often.
ButterflyfishJulii CorydorasRed-finned ParotocinclusGastromyzon monticolaEgg-shaped GoldfishFlame TetraGardner's KillifishAfrican TetraHypsolebias picturatusCommon ZaccoLabeo BicolorGambusiaFlying barbGastromyzon scitulusAlbino Zebra DanioGeophagus BrokopondoHomaloptera bilineataRed-tailed RasboraBoraras naevusLampeye KillifishSpotted Raphael CatfishCorydoras melanotaeniaFestivum cichlidPseudomugil paskai
Will eat this plant
These species damage plants, especially when their diet is short of vegetable food.
Bengal LoachZebra LoachBurmese Border LoachEmperor BotiaMarbled HeadstanderPellegrin's LeporinusLeporinus striatusFalse Black TetraCommon MetynnisMylossoma duriventreRed Whiptail CatfishMoonlight GouramiMelanotaenia parva
Will uproot it
These species dig through the substrate and pull rooted plants out.
Marble LoachPeacock EelForktail LoachGuntea LoachLong-nosed LoachHorseface LoachPearlscaleBlack Moor GoldfishShubunkinPainted PlecoFeatherfin SynodontisReddish Mystus CatfishBlue AcaraPearl CichlidRed-spotted CichlidHaplochromis philanderRed ChromideJack Dempsey cichlid
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Ludwigia glandulosa Topf, Ludwigia glandulosa in Vitro XL