TankBud

Anubias Butterfly

Anubias 'Butterfly'

Also known as Anubias barteri 'Butterfly', Anubias Barteri Butterfly, Butterfly Anubias

FreshwaterRhizomeRhizome division

Anubias Butterfly (Anubias 'Butterfly')
Aquarium Plants Factory · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
No CO₂ needed
Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
Max height
5.9 in
15 cm
Growth rate
Slow
Placement
Epiphyte
Type
Rhizome
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
2–18 dGH
Spread
5.9 in (15 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Beginner
Family
Araceae
Origin
West Africa (cultivated hybrid)

Overview

Grow it like any other Anubias: fix the rhizome to wood or stone, leave it exposed, and give it low light with no CO2 required. It is hardy and forgiving, a good beginner epiphyte, and the wavy leaves add texture that plain-leaved Anubias lack. Growth is slow, so keep light gentle to keep algae off the foliage, and propagate by cutting the rhizome into pieces that each keep a few leaves.

In the wild

Anubias 'Butterfly' is a cultivated selection descended from the West African Anubias barteri complex, plants that grow along shaded streams and rivers rooted to rock and wood. There is no distinct wild Butterfly population; it is a nursery form kept in the trade for its wavy, twisted leaf blades that flare out like butterfly wings. Its parentage lives in the same shaded, flowing-water aroid habitat as the rest of the genus.

Good to know

This is a cultivar in the family Araceae, usually sold as a form of Anubias barteri though its exact hybrid origin is not formally described, so the plain 'Butterfly' cultivar name is the accurate label. The distinctive rippled leaf edge is a fixed morphological trait maintained through vegetative propagation. Like all Anubias it grows from a creeping rhizome and flowers with an aroid spadix and spathe.

Did you know

The 'butterfly' look is not a trick of the light but a stable genetic quirk in the leaf margin, so every leaf the plant grows comes out with the same rippled, winged edge.

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