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Echinodorus Chocolate Marble

Echinodorus 'Chocolate Marble'

One of 21 cultivars of Echinodorus · See all cultivars →

Also known as Echinodorus sp. 'Chocolate Marble', Chocolate Marble sword

FreshwaterRosettePlantletsRhizome division

Cultivars · Echinodorus

See all 21 →

Care at a glance

Light
Medium light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Background
Type
Rosette
Temperature
72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH
6.0–7.5
Max height
15.7 in (40 cm)
Spread
9.8 in (25 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Origin
Cultivated variety (no wild range)
Family
Alismataceae

Overview

Plant it as a background or midground specimen with room for a broad rosette. It is a heavy root feeder, so use nutrient-rich substrate or root tabs and keep the growing crown fully above the substrate, since even slight burial rots it over time. Medium light is enough to hold the marbling, and stronger light with iron-rich fertilization deepens the browns; CO2 is optional but speeds growth. Trim old outer leaves so the large blades do not shade everything below them.

In the wild

Chocolate Marble is a cultivated sword with no wild population. The Echinodorus it descends from grow in the wetlands of the Americas, rooted in soft mud and swinging between emersed and submersed growth with the seasons. Trade stock is farm-raised, usually emersed, and converts to underwater leaves in the tank.

Good to know

A member of the family Alismataceae. It is a trade cultivar of unrecorded parentage, named for its pattern: broad, wavy-edged blades mottled in chocolate brown, maroon and dark green. The marbling in brown, maroon and green intensifies with light and as each leaf ages, and root feeding keeps the colors strong.

Did you know

No two leaves come out alike: the chocolate, maroon and green marbling lands differently on every blade, and the pattern deepens as the leaf ages, so an established rosette shows the whole range at once.

Appears in

Background plants · Sword plants · Beginner plants

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