Lagenandra meeboldii

Care at a glance

Overview

A rhizome plant grown like a large, colourful Crypt or Anubias. It is easy and does well low-tech, but is not a strict low-light plant: give it moderate to strong light for the best pink and red colour, and it appreciates a rich substrate plus CO2 for faster growth. It suffers less from Crypt-style melt than Cryptocoryne but still prefers stable water. Propagate by cutting the rhizome, leaving three or four leaves per section.

In the wild

Native to south-west India, where it colonises the swampy banks of shaded forest streams and grows both emersed and submersed depending on water level. It creeps along a thick rhizome much like Anubias, sending up coarse, ovate, slightly heart-shaped leaves. Wild colouring ranges from olive green through orange-brown to reddish purple, often within a single leaf.

Good to know

A member of the aroid family Araceae, the same family as Bucephalandra, Cryptocoryne and Anubias. The genus Lagenandra is endemic to the Indian subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh). This is a creeping rhizome plant, growing from a thick rhizome much like Anubias rather than a true basal rosette. It reproduces sexually via a lily-like spathe and spadix inflorescence.

Did you know

Its brand-new leaves often emerge a soft light pink before hardening off to green, orange-brown or deep purple, so a healthy plant can show several colours at once across its foliage.

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