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Echinodorus horizontalis

Also known as Aquarius horizontalis

FreshwaterRosettePlantletsRhizome division

Care at a glance

Light
Medium light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Growth rate
Slow
Placement
Midground
Type
Rosette
Temperature
72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH
6.0–7.5
Hardness
3–8 dGH
Max height
13.8 in (35 cm)
Spread
15.7 in (40 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root feeder
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Medium
Origin
Northern South America (Amazon basin)
Family
Alismataceae

Overview

A slow, warmth-loving solitary sword for the midground, where the flat leaf posture gives a layered canopy effect that upright swords cannot. It is a root feeder, so plant it in a nutrient-rich substrate or feed root tabs, and give it soft, slightly acidic, warm water with a decent CO2 supply for steady growth. It tolerates shade better than most swords but should not be buried under heavy cover. The classic failure mode is iron deficiency: new leaves come in pale and chlorotic quickly when iron runs short, so keep micros dosed. Propagate from plantlets on the flower stalks or by dividing the rhizome.

In the wild

Native to the Amazon basin in northern South America, where it grows on the floor of shaded marsh forests and in seasonally flooded ground near rainforest streams. It spends much of the year emersed in dim, humid conditions and switches to submersed growth when the forest floods, so unlike many swords it is genuinely adapted to life under a canopy.

Good to know

A sword plant in the family Alismataceae, described by Karel Rataj and named for its most distinctive trait: the heart-shaped, pointed leaf blades are held nearly horizontal on angled petioles instead of standing upright. Fresh leaves often show a fine translucent grid pattern before darkening. Recent revisions of the genus place it in Aquarius, as Aquarius horizontalis, though the trade still sells it under Echinodorus.

Did you know

The horizontal leaf posture that names the species is a shade adaptation: holding the blades flat catches the little light that reaches the flooded forest floor, and the plant keeps doing it in the aquarium even under a bright lamp.

Appears in

Midground plants · Sword plants

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