Limnophila aromatica

Care at a glance

Overview

A colorful background stem grown for its green-to-purple coloration, which only develops fully under bright light. Plant in groups at the rear and give it strong lighting, rich water-column dosing, and CO2 to bring out the purple undersides; in low light without CO2 it stays green, grows leggy, and is prone to algae. It grows fast and needs frequent topping, with replanted tops branching to fill in. Trim before stems reach the surface to keep the lower foliage from thinning.

In the wild

Widespread across tropical and subtropical Asia, from northeast India and Bhutan through Southeast Asia to southern China, Japan, Korea, and northern Australia. It grows in rice paddies, marshes, and wet ditches as an amphibious herb, often emersed where it flowers. Submersed it forms upright stems with whorls of narrow leaves that range from green to deep purple-red.

Good to know

A member of Plantaginaceae, the same family as Limnophila sessiliflora. In Vietnamese cuisine the emersed plant is the culinary herb 'ngo om' (rice paddy herb), prized for its citrus-cumin aroma. The underside of the submersed leaves carries the purple pigment that gives the plant its signature color.

Did you know

The same plant you grow underwater is a kitchen herb above water: its emersed form, rice paddy herb, is chopped into Vietnamese sour soups for a lemony, slightly spicy flavor.

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