TankBud

Echinodorus gabrielii

Echinodorus x gabrielii

Also known as Echinodorus gabrieli, Gabriel's sword, Gabrielii sword

FreshwaterRosettePlantletsRhizome division

Care at a glance

Light
Medium light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
72–82°F
22–28°C
Max height
11.8 in
30 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Midground
Type
Rosette
pH
6.0–7.5
Spread
9.8 in (25 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root feeder
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Easy
Family
Alismataceae
Origin
Northern Brazil (Pará), the origin Rataj gave in 1990; POWO treats the name as a hybrid

Overview

Echinodorus gabrielii is an easy sword plant that forms a low rosette for the midground.

Did you know

Echinodorus gabrielii sends up an odd, upright flower stalk that looks stunted, with one heavy whorl on top. Small, tough, leathery plantlets grow in a tight cluster on it.

Caring for Echinodorus gabrielii

Plant Echinodorus gabrielii in rich soil with the crown at substrate level, because a buried crown can rot. It feeds heavily through its roots, so add root tabs as well. Emersed nursery plants often lose their first leaves after planting.

Medium light is enough, and added CO2 is optional but speeds growth. Keep it at 72 to 82°F (22 to 28°C) and a pH of 6 to 7.5.

It grows at a moderate pace, and plantlets form on its flower stalks. Cut a stalk at its base once its plantlets have more than five leaves, and float it until they root. An older plant can also be divided at the rhizome.

Good to know

Echinodorus gabrielii is a sword plant in the family Alismataceae. Rataj's original spelling was gabrieli. POWO writes the name with an x, marking it as a hybrid, and leaves it unplaced, neither accepted nor sunk into another species. Jozef Somogyi pinned the name in 2019 to a photo from Rataj's paper, backed by a pressed specimen in Prague. Shop photos show broad, fleshy, wavy leaves with a rough surface.

In the wild

Echinodorus gabrielii was described by Karel Rataj in 1990 from Pará, in northern Brazil, and POWO maps its native range there. Shop plants come from nurseries, including a grower in Thailand and Aquafleur in the Netherlands. The Göttingen Botanical Garden grew it in pots of loamy soil standing in a few cm of water.

Common questions

Does Echinodorus gabrielii need to be planted in the substrate?

Yes. Bury the roots and leave the crown, where the leaves join, just above the substrate.

Does Echinodorus gabrielii need CO2?

No, but it helps. Echinodorus gabrielii can grow without injected CO2, and added CO2 makes it grow faster.

How much light does Echinodorus gabrielii need?

Echinodorus gabrielii wants medium light. A light sold for planted tanks covers it.

Does Echinodorus gabrielii need root tabs?

Yes. Echinodorus gabrielii draws much of its food through its roots. Push root tabs in near it, or grow it in a nutrient-rich soil.

How do you propagate Echinodorus gabrielii?

Echinodorus gabrielii propagates by plantlets and rhizome division. Small plantlets form on the plant and can be detached once they have a few roots. Cut the rhizome into pieces with several leaves each, then tie or plant each piece.

How tall does Echinodorus gabrielii grow?

Echinodorus gabrielii grows to about 11.8 in (30 cm) tall. It grows at a moderate pace.

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