Marsh dewflower

Care at a glance

Overview

An easygoing stem for the midground with a look the catalog otherwise lacks: ranks of glossy, almost bamboo-like leaves on stems that arch and creep rather than climb. It roots at every node, so cuttings establish almost instantly, and it moves smoothly between submersed and emersed growth in open-top tanks. Moderate light keeps it a fresh lime green.

In the wild

A creeping herb of rice paddies, ditches and marsh edges across East Asia, scrambling along wet ground and shallow water with stems that root at every node. It crossed into the southeastern United States with rice cultivation in the early twentieth century and now carpets wetlands from Virginia to the Gulf, which is why several states prohibit it.

Good to know

A member of the spiderwort family Commelinaceae, and one of the few in that family that grows happily fully submersed. The glossy, lance-shaped leaves sit in neat alternating ranks along the stem, and emersed shoots carry small three-petaled flowers in pale pink to lilac. The odd epithet keisak preserves the plant's Japanese vernacular name.

Did you know

It reached America hiding in rice seed around 1935 and now blankets southeastern marshes, which is exactly why Washington and New York ban a plant that shops elsewhere still sell.

Related plants

• 

  Creeping jenny

  Lysimachia nummularia

  Freshwater

  Medium lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)

• 

  Cuphea anagalloidea

  Freshwater

  High lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)

• 

  Juncus repens

  Freshwater

  Medium lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)

• 

  Lake cress

  Rorippa aquatica

  Freshwater

  Medium lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)

• 

  Ludwigia brevipes

  Freshwater

  High lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)

• 

  Ludwigia senegalensis

  Freshwater

  High lightMidground11.8 in (30 cm)