TankBud

Microcarpaea minima

FreshwaterStemCuttings

Microcarpaea minima (Microcarpaea minima)
V C balakrishnan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Light
High light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
68–86°F
20–30°C
Max height
3.9 in
10 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Foreground
Type
Stem
pH
5.0–7.0
Hardness
0–30 dGH
Spread
3.9 in (10 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Medium
Family
Phrymaceae
Origin
Southeast and East Asia to Japan and northern Australia

Overview

Microcarpaea minima is a fine-textured creeping stem for foregrounds and nano tanks, and a plant of medium difficulty.

Did you know

Microcarpaea minima has no siblings anywhere in the plant kingdom. Its genus holds exactly one species.

Caring for Microcarpaea minima

Push the fine stems into the foreground substrate one at a time, a little apart. Under high light they hug the substrate and knit into dense, flat, fresh green cushions.

Microcarpaea minima needs high light. It grows without injected CO2, but CO2 gives you a tight cushion at a reasonable speed. It feeds through its roots and from the water, so use root tabs along with a liquid fertilizer. Keep it warm, at 68 to 86°F (20 to 30°C).

It grows at a moderate pace. Trim the cushions level and replant the clippings to widen the patch. The stumps left behind grow new shoots.

Too little light is its main failure mode. In dimmer light it loosens, thins out and crawls upward instead of across, which is usually not what you bought it for.

Good to know

Microcarpaea minima belongs to the family Phrymaceae. Its name is a size joke played straight, since Microcarpaea refers to the tiny fruit and minima to the plant's overall smallness. Tissue-culture cups often read Microcarpaea minima Merrill. That is the describing botanist's abbreviation (Merr.) printed as if it were a cultivar name.

In the wild

Microcarpaea minima grows in shallow, warm, periodically flooded water across Southeast and East Asia to northern Australia. Its homes are rice paddies, pond margins and riverbanks that wet and dry with the seasons. It is amphibious, creeping over mud when the water drops and bearing small pale purple flowers in its emersed form. Submersed plants stay tiny, with leaves only about 2 mm wide.

Common questions

Does Microcarpaea minima need to be planted in the substrate?

Yes. Strip the leaves from the lower part of each stem, then push the stems into the substrate one at a time, a little apart.

Does Microcarpaea minima need CO2?

No, but it helps. Microcarpaea minima can grow without injected CO2, and added CO2 makes it grow faster.

How much light does Microcarpaea minima need?

Microcarpaea minima needs high light from a strong planted-tank LED. In weaker light its stems stretch and drop their lower leaves.

Does Microcarpaea minima need root tabs?

They help. Microcarpaea minima takes nutrients through both its roots and its leaves. Root tabs near its roots and a liquid fertilizer cover both.

How do you propagate Microcarpaea minima?

Microcarpaea minima propagates by cuttings. Cut off the top of a stem and replant it, and the stump left behind grows new shoots.

How tall does Microcarpaea minima grow?

Microcarpaea minima grows to about 3.9 in (10 cm) tall. It grows at a moderate pace.

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