TankBud

Bucephalandra chimaera

Also known as Bucephalandra 'Chimera', Bucephalandra sp. 'Chimera'

FreshwaterRhizomeRhizome division

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
Max height
6.7 in
17 cm
Growth rate
Slow
Placement
Epiphyte
Type
Rhizome
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
4–12 dGH
Spread
5.9 in (15 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Family
Araceae
Origin
Borneo (near Nanga Taman, Sekadau regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia)

Overview

Bucephalandra chimaera is a large Buce, about 17 cm tall in the wild, so it fits the midground. Mount the rhizome on rock or wood, since a buried rhizome rots. Low light is enough, and CO2 with liquid fertilizer speeds the slow leaf growth. Change light and water chemistry slowly, because sudden swings often melt Buce leaves. Shaded, gently moving water comes closest to its wild streams. Divide the rhizome once it branches, and keep several leaves on each piece.

In the wild

Bucephalandra chimaera is known only from around Nanga Taman in Sekadau regency, West Kalimantan, on Borneo. It grows at the base of large granite boulders along small, shaded forest streams. The site lies under humid lowland forest at about 90 m, and the type plants were collected there in April 2012.

Good to know

Wong and Boyce described Bucephalandra chimaera in 2014. They named it for the Chimaera of Greek myth, a beast made from a lion, a goat and a snake. The plant resembles one species in its leaves, another in its flower heads and a third in its male flowers. The blades are oblong-elliptic, 9 to 12 cm long and 2 to 3 cm wide, semi-glossy emerald green with weakly wavy edges. They stand on brownish green stalks 6 to 9 cm long. The revision gives 'Chimera' as its trade name.

Did you know

Wong and Boyce call it highly unusual for two Bucephalandra species to share one site. B. chimaera shares Nanga Taman with B. aurantiitheca, which grows on exposed rock by the bigger rivers. The leaves of the two look almost the same, so their flowers tell them apart.

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