Echinodorus pellucidus Rataj

Echinodorus pellucidus Rataj

DE

heterotypic synonym of: Echinodorus uruguayensis Arechav.

heterotypic synonym of: Echinodorus grandiflorus (Cham. & Schltr.) Micheli

Echinodurus pellucidus, or transparent Echinodorus as it is also known, grows naturally in the swampy waters of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. The plant is very attractive and gets its name from the beautiful pattern on the translucent leaves.

Echinodorus pelucidus has oval or lanceolate leaves on small leaf stalks. On the leaf blade, 5 veins and small dots of dark red color are clearly visible. The size of the leaf plate reaches up to 11 cm in length and up to 5 cm in width. The color of the bush is usually monotonous green. Being in partial shade, the plant acquires a variegated-spotted color. The rhizome is horizontal or slightly sloping, after 1-3 years several daughter bushes form on it. Under acceptable conditions, the plant can flower and release an emerging flowering shoot with a branched base about 70 cm long, the height of the bush reaches 30 cm.

Transparent Echinodorus is appreciated for the fact that it is completely undemanding and its care in the aquarium does not require extensive maintenance. In aquariums with a water level of more than 40 cm, the plant grows completely under water and almost never flowers. To achieve the flowering of transparent Echinodorus and for the plant to flower very rarely, the maximum water level in the aquarium should not exceed 30 cm.