Myriophyllum Snowflake
Myriophyllum quitense
Also known as Myriophyllum elatinoides, Myriophyllum elatinoides Snowflake, Myriophyllum sp. Snowflake
Care at a glance
- Light
- Medium light
- CO2
- CO₂ beneficial
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Placement
- Background
- Type
- Stem
- Temperature
- 64–82°F (18–28°C)
- pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Hardness
- 2–12 dGH
- Max height
- 23.6 in (60 cm)
- Spread
- 2 in (5 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Root + water column
- Growth region
- Submersed or emersed
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Origin
- South America (Andes); scattered populations in western North America
- Family
- Haloragaceae
Overview
A fast, feathery background bush. Plant stems a couple of centimetres apart in a nutrient-rich substrate, give it medium or better light, and trim often; every cut top replants, and trimming forces the side shoots that make it dense. The frosted tips show best under stronger light with CO2, though neither is mandatory for plain healthy growth. It handles cooler water than most stems and does fine in unheated tanks. The fine foliage catches debris, so keep flow decent and mulm down.
In the wild
Myriophyllum quitense grows in cool, clear lakes, streams and Andean waterways from Ecuador south through South America, with scattered populations in western North America. It is amphibious, growing submersed in deeper water and creeping emersed on wet margins, and a fully terrestrial form is documented from Bolivia. The Snowflake of the trade is a cultivated line sold under the synonym Myriophyllum elatinoides.
Good to know
A water milfoil in the family Haloragaceae, described by Kunth from Ecuador; Myriophyllum elatinoides is treated as a synonym and is the name the trade prefers. Whorls of finely divided, feather-like leaves ring each stem. The pale, silvery-green new growth at the tips is the trait the Snowflake selection is sold on.
Did you know
The species name quitense means from Quito: the plant was first described from Andean collections near the Ecuadorian capital, and that mountain heritage is why it shrugs off cooler water than most aquarium stems.
Appears in
Background plants · Stem plants · Beginner plants · Fast growers
Growing Myriophyllum Snowflake?
Track your planted tank, set reminders and plan your layout.
Planning tankmates
See how Myriophyllum Snowflake fits a stocking plan. Open the stocking calculator
Add to your site
Show this plant on your own site: a shortcode for WordPress, or an HTML embed for anywhere else.
Related plants
Myriophyllum pinnatum
FreshwaterMedium lightBackground23.6 in (60 cm)Myriophyllum Roraima
Myriophyllum sp. 'Roraima'FreshwaterHigh lightBackground23.6 in (60 cm)
Myriophyllum Guyana
Myriophyllum mattogrossenseFreshwaterMedium lightBackground19.7 in (50 cm)
Myriophyllum ussuriense
FreshwaterMedium lightBackground15.7 in (40 cm)
Parrot's feather
Myriophyllum aquaticumFreshwaterHigh lightBackground15.7 in (40 cm)Red myriophyllum
Myriophyllum tuberculatumFreshwaterHigh lightBackground11.8 in (30 cm)