Dwarf water lettuce
Pistia stratiotes
Also known as Water lettuce, Nile cabbage, Water cabbage
Invasive. Highly invasive in warm waterways and restricted or banned in several US states. Never release into the wild; dispose of in the trash.
Care at a glance
- Light
- Medium light
- CO2
- No CO₂ needed
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Placement
- Floating
- Type
- Floating
- Temperature
- 72–86°F (22–30°C)
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Hardness
- 3–12 dGH
- Max height
- 3.9 in (10 cm)
- Spread
- 5.9 in (15 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Water column
- Growth region
- Submersed or emersed
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Origin
- Pantropical (debated, likely South America/Africa)
- Family
- Araceae
Overview
Just drop it on the surface, where the trailing roots pull nutrients straight from the water and make it an excellent nitrate sponge and shade provider for shrimp and fry. It needs no substrate or CO2 and does fine under medium light, multiplying fast enough that you will be scooping out handfuls regularly to keep it from covering the whole surface and blocking light to plants below. The classic killer is overhead condensation and strong surface spray, which sit on the crown and cause the leaves to melt and rot, so keep a lid gap and gentle surface flow. Note it is a regulated noxious weed in some regions, so never release it into the wild.
In the wild
Water lettuce is a free-floating plant found across tropical and subtropical waters worldwide, drifting on still and slow-moving ponds, ditches, lakes and river backwaters. Its exact native range is debated, but it is now naturalized nearly everywhere warm. It floats with a rosette of velvety leaves above the surface and a long curtain of fine feathery roots hanging beneath.
Good to know
Pistia stratiotes is the only species in its genus and sits in the arum family, Araceae, alongside plants like Anubias and Cryptocoryne. It produces tiny, easily overlooked greenish flowers typical of aroids, but in cultivation it spreads almost entirely vegetatively by sending out short stolons that bud off new daughter rosettes. The leaf surface is covered in fine water-repellent hairs that trap air and keep the rosette buoyant and dry on top.
Did you know
Despite the name, water lettuce is not related to lettuce at all, it is an aroid, and it is one of the oldest aquatic plants on record, described in ancient Egyptian and Greek texts thousands of years ago.
Where to buy
Some links may not be the exact species or variety.
- Glass Aqua Aquascaping plants and planted tank supplies
- Buce Plant Aquatic plants and aquascaping supplies
…or ask your local fish store.
Appears in
No-CO2 plants · Floating plants · Beginner plants · Fast growers
Growing Dwarf water lettuce?
Track your planted tank, set reminders and plan your layout.
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