Aquarium plants
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Stargrass
Pontederiaceae
Heteranthera zosterifolia
Narrow pointed leaves spreading from the stem like little stars. It branches by itself into a bushy thicket and grows in dim light, which few fast plants do.
Stringy Moss
Amblystegiaceae
Leptodictyum riparium
An upright, loosely branched moss of a bright, almost transparent green. It grows fast, takes any temperature and is one of the simplest mosses to start with.
Süsswassertang
Lomariopsidaceae
Lomariopsis lineata
Neither a moss nor quite a plant in the usual sense: loose green lobes that clump together like a soft sponge. It grows in almost any conditions and is often mistaken for a liverwort.
Taiwan Moss
Hypnaceae
Taxiphyllum alternans
A moss with hanging fronds, tied to wood or stone rather than planted. It needs almost no light and no fertiliser, and it turns any bare branch into a shelter for shrimp and fry.
Tall Micro Sword
Apiaceae
Lilaeopsis macloviana
The large member of a genus known for lawns: blades long enough to reach the middle of a tank. Same grass-like look, quite a different role in a layout.
Tape Grass
Hydrocharitaceae
Vallisneria spiralis
Ribbon leaves rising in a curtain from the substrate — the plant behind the classic jungle aquarium. It grows in warm and cool water across the tropics and subtropics, and is about as close to unkillable as an aquarium…
Taxiphyllum alternans 'Taiwan Moss'
Hypnaceae
Taxiphyllum alternans
A creeping moss known in the aquarium hobby as 'Taiwan Moss', though whether it actually grows in the wild on Taiwan is unclear; it has been identified as Taxiphyllum alternans. Very similar to Java Moss, but branches…
Temple Plant
Acanthaceae
Hygrophila corymbosa
A large stem plant with broad bright-green leaves, sold in many forms from narrow-leaved to red. It grows fast, so the pruning shears come out often — that is the price of a full back wall in a month.
Thai Onion Plant
Amaryllidaceae
Crinum thaianum
A bulb the size of an onion with long ribbon leaves that reach the surface and drift along it. Undemanding — its only real requirement is room.
Three-flower Ammannia
Lythraceae
Ammannia capitellata
Oblong green leaves on reddish stems, with red veins running through them. Under strong light the whole plant reddens; in an ordinary tank it stays a quiet green and red.
Tiger Lotus
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaea lotus
A water lily grown from a bulb, with big leaves that go from bronze to deep red with darker spots. In a large tank one plant is enough to become the centre of the whole picture.
Tonina
Eriocaulaceae
Paepalanthus fluviatilis
Whorls of narrow leaves on an upright stem, in a pale, almost white-green found nowhere else in a tank. One of the hardest plants in the hobby, and a badge of a well-run aquarium.
Umbrella Hairgrass
Cyperaceae
Eleocharis vivipara
Tall thin blades that arch over near the surface and grow new little plants right on their tips. It makes a light, grassy screen instead of a solid wall.
Uruguay Sword
Alismataceae
Aquarius uruguayensis
A large sword plant with long dark ribbon leaves. Undemanding, fast for its size, and one of the few swords that also does well in cool water.
Ussuri Watermilfoil
Haloragaceae
Myriophyllum ussuriense
Feathery green whorls on soft stems — the plainest and toughest of the watermilfoils. It grows in cold water as readily as in warm and needs no carbon dioxide.
Vallisneria nana 'Tiger'
Hydrocharitaceae
Vallisneria nana
A vallisneria with ribbon-shaped leaves covered in frequent short transverse streaks ranging from red to dark brown — hence the name 'Tiger'; usually sold as Vallisneria spiralis 'Tiger', but DNA analysis (2008) showed…
Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping Moss'
Hypnaceae
Vesicularia ferriei
A moss with distinctly hanging, fan-branching shoots that resemble a weeping willow — hence the name 'Weeping Moss'; it is thought to have been introduced from China and identified as Vesicularia ferriei.
Walker's Crypt
Araceae
Cryptocoryne walkeri
A medium-sized water trumpet from Sri Lanka, plain and reliable: it grows in dim light, in almost any water, and asks for nothing once it has settled.
Water Hedge
Lythraceae
Didiplis diandra
Fine needle-shaped leaves in crosswise pairs that build soft cloud-like bushes. Olive green in an ordinary tank, orange and red at the tips in a bright one.
Water Lettuce
Araceae
Pistia stratiotes
A floating rosette that really does look like a small head of lettuce, with a long beard of roots beneath. It shades the tank, takes nutrients straight from the water and grows fast enough to need weekly thinning.
Water Orchid
Orchidaceae
Spiranthes odorata
A genuine orchid that grows in swamps and shallow water of the American south — and flowers there. Its flowers spiral around an upright stalk, which is where the name of the genus comes from.
Water Spangles
Salviniaceae
Salvinia minima
A small floating fern from tropical America, with paired oval leaves covered in water-repellent hairs. It grows very fast, which makes it a good nutrient sponge and a nuisance in equal measure.
Water Sprite
Pteridaceae
Ceratopteris thalictroides
A pantropical fern with finely divided leaves that grows either rooted in the substrate or drifting at the surface. It is fast enough to be used deliberately as a nutrient sponge in a young aquarium.
Water Violet
Primulaceae
Hottonia palustris
Soft, feathery light green leaves in fans along curving stems — a fluffy-looking plant that grows in cool water and dim light. Its brightness makes red neighbours look redder.
Water Wisteria
Acanthaceae
Hygrophila difformis
A fast green stem plant with leaves cut into lobes like a fern's. It asks for nothing in particular, grows from the first week and quickly makes a new tank look planted rather than empty.
Waterwort
Elatinaceae
Elatine hydropiper
A carpet of tiny bright green leaves that hug the substrate — like a miniature glossostigma, only smaller and flatter. Rare, and not a plant for a first tank.
Wavy Crypt
Araceae
Cryptocoryne undulata
A hardy crypt with narrow wavy leaves that shift between green and bronze-red depending on the light. One of the oldest plants in the hobby and still one of the most reliable.
Wavy-Leaf Aponogeton
Aponogetonaceae
Aponogeton ulvaceus
A bulb plant from Madagascar with translucent, wavy light-green leaves — one plant can carry forty of them. In a large tank it works as a centrepiece that needs no company.
Weeping Moss
Hypnaceae
Vesicularia ferriei
A moss whose shoots hang downwards in teardrops rather than sprawling sideways. Tied to a branch it drapes over it like a small green willow.
Wendt's Water Trumpet
Araceae
Cryptocoryne wendtii
A rosette plant from the streams of Sri Lanka and one of the few aquarium plants that asks for almost nothing. It settles in dim corners, in hard water and under the shade of taller neighbours, and repays the neglect…
White Water Trumpet
Araceae
Cryptocoryne albida
A small crypt with narrow red-brown leaves marked with dark patterns. It grows in very dim light, slowly and without fuss, and gives a tank a graceful line where bigger plants would be too much.
Whorled Pennywort
Araliaceae
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Round leaves on thin upright stalks, each one like a tiny umbrella — a shape nothing else in an aquarium has. It creeps along the bottom, and getting it to fill in evenly takes bright light and patience.
Whorly Rotala
Lythraceae
Rotala wallichii
Needle-fine leaves in soft whorls, with tips that turn pink and crimson under strong light. One of the prettiest plants in the hobby, and one that only shows it in a well-lit tank.
Willis's Crypt
Araceae
Cryptocoryne willisii
A small water trumpet with narrow bright green leaves that spreads into a low thicket. One of the easiest plants for a dim tank.
Willow Moss
Fontinalaceae
Fontinalis antipyretica
A large dark moss from cold streams and lakes, with shoots that look like tiny willow branches. One of the few plants that thrives in an unheated tank.
Winged Sword
Alismataceae
Aquarius subulatus
A plain, sturdy sword plant from tropical American swamps — light green lance-shaped leaves on long stalks. Undemanding, tolerant of hard water and of warmth, and rarely noticed next to the coloured hybrids.
Wrinkled Limnophila
Plantaginaceae
Limnophila rugosa
A broad-leaved limnophila from tropical Asia — nothing like the feathery ambulias most keepers know from the same genus. Slow under water, and easy above it.