Anubias Broad Leaf

Care at a glance

Overview

Attach the rhizome to wood or rock with thread or a dab of gel glue and never bury it, since a buried rhizome rots. It is one of the easiest aquarium plants going: low light, no CO2, and hard tap water are all fine. Growth is slow, so keep light modest to avoid algae building up on the tough leaves, and wipe or spot-treat any that appears. Divide the rhizome to make new plants.

In the wild

Anubias barteri comes from West and Central Africa, where it grows along shaded streams and rivers, often rooted at the water's edge or clinging to submerged rocks and roots. In the wild it lives as a marsh plant, sitting emersed with roots in water and much of the foliage above the surface. The Broad Leaf form is a selected cultivar of the wild species, chosen for its wide, rounded leaf blades.

Good to know

This is a cultivated selection of Anubias barteri var. barteri in the arum family (Araceae), the same family as philodendron and peace lily. Like all aroids it produces a spadix-and-spathe flower rather than a true blossom, and it will flower underwater without setting seed. The thick horizontal rhizome stores energy and is the point from which both leaves and roots emerge.

Did you know

Because Anubias leaves are so tough and slow to grow, a single leaf can persist for over a year, and hobbyists often see algae colonise a leaf before the plant grows a replacement.

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