TankBud

Mosaic plant

Ludwigia sedioides

Also known as Mosaic flower, False loosestrife, Jussiaea sedioides

FreshwaterRosetteCuttingsSide shoots

Invasive. Mosaic plant is invasive and restricted in parts of Australia and some US states. Never release into the wild; dispose of in the trash.

Mosaic plant (Ludwigia sedioides)
Yercaud-elango · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Light
High light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
70–82°F
21–28°C
Max height
11.8 in
30 cm
Growth rate
Fast
Placement
Floating
Type
Rosette
pH
5.5–7.5
Hardness
2–12 dGH
Spread
23.6 in (60 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Medium
Family
Onagraceae
Origin
Tropical South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Brazil)

Overview

Grown for the ornate red-and-green surface rosettes rather than as a background plant. It roots in soft substrate and needs bright light hitting the surface, so it is really a pond or open-top tank plant and will shade out everything below it. CO2 and rich substrate speed it up, and it spreads fast enough to need regular thinning. It hates alkaline water and will decline above pH 8, and cold below about 18 C kills it.

In the wild

Native to tropical South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Brazil, where it grows in still or slow-moving swampy water and pond margins. It is a rooted plant that sends long stems up to the surface, where the leaves fan out into flat, diamond-shaped rosettes that float on top. In the wild a single plant can spread across a couple of feet of water surface.

Good to know

The accepted name is Ludwigia sedioides (Humb. & Bonpl.) H.Hara, in the family Onagraceae, and it was first described as Jussiaea sedioides. Despite its floating appearance it is not a free-floater like duckweed, it roots in the substrate. The rosettes open flat during the day and the leaves overlap and contract at night, a genuine nyctinastic (day-night) movement.

Did you know

Did you know this plant is considered potentially invasive in some regions (it has been flagged as a problem species in Sri Lanka), so never release it into local waterways, though it is not on any federal noxious weed ban list.

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