A large leafy liverwort from tropical Africa and Madagascar, growing beside forest streams. Its shoots look more like narrow fern fronds than moss — and it comes from the same rivers as anubias.
- Light
- low–medium
- Difficulty
- easy
Tank conditions
- Plant type
- moss
- Growth rate
- very slow
- Tolerates light
- low – medium
- Placement
- on stone and wood, nano tank
- Propagation
- division, daughter plants
- Grows emersed
- yes
Care and keeping
Appearance
Sparsely branched shoots 10 cm and more, growing horizontally or rising, with rounded leaves in two neat rows. Densely and regularly leaved, which is what gives it the fern-frond look.
Keeping
It does well in soft to medium-hard water, responds strongly to carbon dioxide and grows better in weak to medium light than in bright light. Good feeding matters: a shortage shows as narrower, paler shoots. Growth is slow even by moss standards. Tie it to wood or stone and then leave it alone — it looks best when the shoots have settled undisturbed.
Placement
Tied to wood and stone, and a natural companion for the African epiphytes it shares a home with.
Propagation
By division: separate a piece and tie it down elsewhere.
Cultivars
The same plant with a different look: light, water and care are shared with the species.
Other varieties: Plagiochila integerrima Pad 5 x 5 cm
Scientific and other names, conservation status
- Other scientific names
- Plagiochila cf. integerrima, Plagiochila clavaeflora Stephani, Plagiochila dichotoma var. laxa Gottsche, Lindenb. & Nees, Plagiochila radicans Stephani, Tylimanthus chenagonii Stephani, Tylimanthus lespagnolii Stephani, Plagiochila blanda, Plagiochila clavaeflora, Plagiochila claviflora, Plagiochila claviflora arguta, Plagiochila claviflora integerrima, Plagiochila claviflora keniae, Plagiochila dichotoma laxa, Plagiochila elgonensis, Plagiochila flagellaris, Plagiochila naveauiana, Plagiochila nudicaulis, Plagiochila radicans, Plagiochila rivularis, Plagiochila rupicola, Plagiochila squarrosifolia, Tylimanthus chenagonii, Tylimanthus congoensis, Tylimanthus lespagnolii, Tylimanthus retusus, Tylimanthus schweinfurthii
- Plagiochila integerrima
- Stephani
- Family
- Plagiochilaceae