TankBud

Anubias glabra Variegated

Anubias barteri var. glabra 'Variegated'

One of 25 forms of Anubias barteri · See all forms →

Also known as Anubias minima Variegated, Anubias glabra Variegata, Anubias barteri var. glabra 'Variegata'

FreshwaterRhizomeRhizome division

Forms · Anubias barteri

See all 25 →

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
No CO₂ needed
Growth rate
Slow
Placement
Epiphyte
Type
Rhizome
Temperature
72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH
5.0–8.0
Hardness
2–15 dGH
Max height
7.9 in (20 cm)
Spread
5.9 in (15 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Origin
Cultivar (parent variety native to West Africa, Guinea to Gabon)
Family
Araceae

Overview

Care is standard anubias: glue or tie the rhizome to wood or rock, never bury it, and let it get on with things. It stays happy under low light with no CO2, and low light also keeps algae off the slow leaves, so resist the urge to blast it. Growth is very slow even by anubias standards, since the pale tissue does no photosynthesis. Expect the variegation to wander: some new leaves come through pure green, and trimming those back keeps the white share up. Propagate by cutting the rhizome into pieces of a few leaves each.

In the wild

A variegated selection of Anubias barteri var. glabra, not a wild plant. The parent variety grows along rainforest streams in West Africa, from Guinea down to Gabon, rooted to rock and wood on the banks, emersed in the splash zone and underwater when levels rise. The white-marked form exists only in cultivation.

Good to know

An aroid in the family Araceae. The variety name glabra means smooth or hairless, and var. glabra is the catch-all for the narrow-leaved barteri forms also sold as minima, angustifolia and lanceolata. 'Variegated' is a horticultural selection, not a botanical taxon: sectors of the leaf lack chlorophyll and come through cream to white, and because the pattern is chimeric it varies leaf to leaf and can disappear entirely.

Did you know

The variegation is not guaranteed to stay. The same rhizome can throw heavily white leaves one month and plain green ones the next, which is why growers cut green shoots out early, before the faster green tissue takes the plant back over.

Appears in

Low-light plants · No-CO2 plants · Epiphytes · Beginner plants

Growing Anubias glabra Variegated?

Track your planted tank, set reminders and plan your layout.

Sign in or Track your tanks →

Planning tankmates

See how Anubias glabra Variegated fits a stocking plan. Open the stocking calculator

Add to your site

Show this plant on your own site: a shortcode for WordPress, or an HTML embed for anywhere else.

WordPress shortcodeAbout the plugin
HTML embedAbout the embed

Related plants