TankBud

Bucephalandra goliath

Also known as Buce Goliath, Bucephalandra 'Goliathe', Bucephalandra 'Jupiter'

FreshwaterRhizomeRhizome division

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
Max height
11.8 in
30 cm
Growth rate
Slow
Placement
Epiphyte
Type
Rhizome
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
2–12 dGH
Spread
7.9 in (20 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Family
Araceae
Origin
Borneo (Nanga Pinoh and Nanga Taman area, West Kalimantan, Indonesia)

Overview

Goliath is one of the few Buce big enough for the background, with leaves up to 15 cm on 5 to 6 cm stalks. Large shop plants stand 15 to 30 cm tall. The stem climbs and turns bare over the years, leaving a tuft of leaves at the top. Its thick rhizome belongs high on driftwood or stone, well above the substrate, with room for the long leaves. Goliath needs only low to medium light, and it grows without added CO2. A leafy tip cut from an old stem starts a new plant.

In the wild

Bucephalandra goliath is known only from around Nanga Pinoh in Melawi Regency and Nanga Taman in Sekadau Regency, in West Kalimantan on Borneo. The type specimen came from granite waterfalls south of Nanga Pinoh, at about 250 m under humid lower hill forest. Its wild colonies are scattered and very local.

Good to know

Bucephalandra goliath is an aroid (Araceae) that S.Y. Wong and P.C. Boyce described in 2014 in Willdenowia volume 44. They named it after Goliath of Gath, the Philistine giant, for its large and robust build. Their paper gives Goliath, Goliathe and Jupiter as its trade names. The thick, leathery leaves are narrow ellipses 10 to 15 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm wide, with a red midrib underneath. Godzilla, another big Buce, has broader leaves with ruffled edges.

Did you know

Old Goliath stems keep branching in the wild and hang off the waterfall rock as curtains more than 1 m long. An upright plant stands only about 15 cm tall.

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