Cryptocoryne walkeri Lutea

Care at a glance

Overview

One of the unfussy starter crypts. Plant it in the mid or foreground in nutrient-rich substrate, feed the roots with tabs, and then leave it alone: like most crypts it hates being moved and may melt after planting or after a big parameter swing, then regrows from the roots. Light demand is low and CO2 is optional, though both speed up an otherwise slow plant. It creeps outward on short runners into a tidy clump that is easy to split and replant.

In the wild

The plant behind this trade name is Cryptocoryne walkeri, endemic to Sri Lanka, where it grows in and along shaded streams, submersed in the wet season and emersed on muddy banks as the water falls. The Lutea line has been in the hobby for decades and is farm raised rather than wild collected.

Good to know

Lutea entered the books as a species of its own, Cryptocoryne lutea Alston, and was later sunk into Cryptocoryne walkeri Schott (family Araceae); the trade never let the old name go. The epithet lutea means yellow, after the yellowish cast of the spathe and fresh growth. Against typical walkeri it is a compact green form, with somewhat narrower blades on brownish stems.

Did you know

Crypt melt looks terminal but rarely is. The rhizome and roots usually survive the collapse, and a melted Lutea left planted typically regrows a full set of submersed leaves within a few weeks.

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