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Couple Plant ID's

Started by Guest_jblaylock_* , Dec 28 2009 08:16 AM

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20 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 28 December 2009 - 08:16 AM

I collected these last week in a small creek. I'm not 100% sure that they are true aquatic plants. The area that I collected them in hasn't had a lot of rain recently and the creek wasn't up any higher than normal. These were growing closer to the sides but still pretty far from the bank. If they are aquatics I'd take any growing tips as I'm usually not good with plants.

#1. I'm actually holding 2 of these. They were growing kinda close to the middle of the creek in about 7-8 inches of water. I saw quite a bit of these once I started looking.
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#2. This is some long grass that was growing near the bank. These are about 1 1/2 long and have fairly stiff roots.
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#3. I nearly didn't get this plant into the bucket. I didn't know what I was in for when I grabbed it. This thing has a HUGE root ball for such a small plant. I haven't put this in the aquarium yet. If this is aquatic, can I cut some of the root off of it?
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#2 Guest_SlimSanta_*

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Posted 28 December 2009 - 03:21 PM

I've attempted to grow plant #1 before, it didn't seem to like being fully submerged. I found it the exact conditions you described, 80% of the leaves where above water. I don't know what it was though.

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#3 Guest_brgray_*

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Posted 28 December 2009 - 04:05 PM

#1 looks like watercress to me. crush a leaf (or taste it); if it's cress, it'll have a mustardy smell/taste

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#4 Guest_smilingfrog_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 12:55 AM

#1 looks like watercress to me. crush a leaf (or taste it); if it's cress, it'll have a mustardy smell/taste

#3 might be cardinal flower, no idea on the grass, and I was also thinking watercress for #1.

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#5 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 08:20 AM

#3 might be cardinal flower, no idea on the grass, and I was also thinking watercress for #1.

I was looking at pics of Lobelia Cardinalis, you may be right. It seems like an emergent plant but AZ Water Gardens sells it as an aquatic. I am going to cut the roots down today and plant it in the tank.

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#6 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 08:40 AM

Lobelia is often found on stream banks in damp soil. I would guess that submerging it would kill it sooner than later. Many plants sold as "aquatic" really aren't but most people don't know that including the dealers.

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#7 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 10:42 AM

Lobelia is often found on stream banks in damp soil. I would guess that submerging it would kill it sooner than later. Many plants sold as "aquatic" really aren't but most people don't know that including the dealers.

Yeah, I figured that. It's already been uprooted now, it will die one way or the other so I might as well plant it and see what happens. Come to think of it, the roots where concentrated moving toward the bank so it was probably growing to try to get out of being totally under water.

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#8 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 10:46 AM

If that is Lobelia, it should be fine in a tank. I had some living (and growing) quite well in one of my tanks. It's also fairly commonly seen in planted tank aquascapes, so I do not believe it will die.

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#9 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 10:51 AM

If you don't want to kill the lobelia (and I agree that's what it is), stabilize it in a pot with potting soil for this winter (once it's stable, you can put it back outside), plant it where your gutter comes out and start a rain garden

Todd

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#10 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 01:41 PM

#1: My guess is bittercress, Cardamine pennsylvanica or a similar species, not watercress. In NC it grows along stream/pond edges where the leaves get air contact during low water. It might live a long time submerged, but I doubt it will grow well. Unless maybe it's a related species that can be permanently submersed ??

#2: looks like a sedge, probably a Carex or Scirpus species. There are very few that grow underwater. Like #1 many can live with the base submerged as long as they can get air via emergent leaves.

#3: I agree, cardinal flower, and yes the planted tank folks can grow this species submersed long-term. But I wonder if the submersible variety in the trade may be genetically different from typical wild ones.

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#11 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 02:19 PM

#3: I agree, cardinal flower, and yes the planted tank folks can grow this species submersed long-term. But I wonder if the submersible variety in the trade may be genetically different from typical wild ones.

Yeah, that thought's been dawning on me since I posted earlier. It could be a different species, or at least a cultivar. Another question is, does it flower? The plants in my yard send up a flowering stalk almost a half meter tall; does a fully aquatic form do that?

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#12 Guest_nativeplanter_*

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 03:13 PM

#1: My guess is bittercress, Cardamine pennsylvanica or a similar species, not watercress. In NC it grows along stream/pond edges where the leaves get air contact during low water. It might live a long time submerged, but I doubt it will grow well. Unless maybe it's a related species that can be permanently submersed ??

#2: looks like a sedge, probably a Carex or Scirpus species. There are very few that grow underwater. Like #1 many can live with the base submerged as long as they can get air via emergent leaves.

#3: I agree, cardinal flower, and yes the planted tank folks can grow this species submersed long-term. But I wonder if the submersible variety in the trade may be genetically different from typical wild ones.

I agree with Gerald on all 3. Plant #2 is most likely a Carex.

You could grow the Lobelia under water, but it will be much more attractive and appreciated if you grow it in a rain garden or similar wet spot. I suspect the Lobelia in the trade is a particularly water-tolerant cultivar. But planted emersed, it is a stunning specimen.

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#13 Guest_mudminnow_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 03:05 PM

I have had plant #1 in my tank for a few months now. So far it is growing, but I would not say that it is growing well. The original leaves have all died away and new, smaller, thinner, darker colored leaves have grown in.

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#14 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 10 January 2010 - 08:57 PM

Update:

Plant #1 is growing well. I used 2 sections of plant #1 and after a couple weeks, they are standing up straight and appear to be growing. As of now, I'm impressed that it is growing.

Plant #2 withered away and died quickly

Plant #3 appears to be doing ok. It was planted a week later than the other two, but it seems ok so far.

Anybody know of an decent aquatic plant books that would cover the ky area?

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#15 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:00 PM

It's not specific to aquatics, but Plant Life of Kentucky by Ronald L. Jones is an excellent illustrated manual that covers all vascular plants. Not cheap, but very useful for Kentucky and surrounding regions as well. http://www.amazon.co...0813123313#noop

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#16 Guest_mudminnow_*

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 11:58 AM

I just pulled up one of my watercress/bittercress/plant#1 plants out of my tank, and it had developed a huge root system--something like you might expect on an established cryptocoryne. So, this made me wonder if plant#1 might be a heavy root feeder. Perhaps adding some fertilizer tabs at the roots would make it really happy.

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#17 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 18 January 2010 - 09:13 AM

It's not specific to aquatics, but Plant Life of Kentucky by Ronald L. Jones is an excellent illustrated manual that covers all vascular plants. Not cheap, but very useful for Kentucky and surrounding regions as well. http://www.amazon.co...0813123313#noop

They are still doing well, but I think I have some of those tablets somewhere, I'll give it a shot.

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#18 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 11 February 2010 - 09:52 PM

Plant updates

Plant #1: Growing up well, the leaves don't look at healthy as they once did, but it continues to grow. In the first photo you can see how small they were, I was holding 2 in my fingers, here they are now.

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couple of my geodes in this pic (right rear, and center with the hole, needs cleaning)
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this one is planted behind some rocks and didn't get as much direct light as the other and it has grown slower
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Plant #3:
I can see the large root ball growing in the bottom of the tank, the plant seems to be doing ok, a couple of small steams shot up but didn't amount to much.
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This moss is attached to a rock. I had it placed in front of the powerheads but moved it next to the driftwood, hoping it will transfer.
I can't tell how well it's growing. At one time, it was getting longer, but I thought the current was pushing the growing to the far side. The brown seen is algae on the moss
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#19 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 12 February 2010 - 08:29 AM

Anybody have updated ID's for these plants???

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#20 Guest_nativeplanter_*

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Posted 12 February 2010 - 09:35 AM

My thoughts are still the same. The cress/mustard seems to be hanging on, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't last a long long time. It's neat looking though. The lobelia still looks like L. cardinalis. to me.