Nesaea triflora
Ammannia capitellata
Also known as Ammannia mauritiana
Care at a glance
- Light
- Medium light
- CO2
- CO₂ beneficial
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Placement
- Background
- Type
- Stem
- Temperature
- 73–82°F (23–28°C)
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Hardness
- 0–30 dGH
- Max height
- 23.6 in (60 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Root + water column
- Growth region
- Submersed or emersed
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Origin
- Madagascar, Mauritius and neighbouring Indian Ocean islands; also coastal East Africa, southern India and Sri Lanka
- Family
- Lythraceae
Overview
A stem for the midground or background, lighter built and easier going than showpieces like Ammannia crassicaulis. Give it a nutrient-rich substrate, moderate to strong light and ideally CO2, and it rewards you with light green to yellowish shoots marbled in pink and orange; more light pushes the warm tones. It branches willingly, so a few stems build into a bush, and trimmings replant to thicken the group. Keep parameters steady, since sudden swings can melt it like other Lythraceae stems.
In the wild
An amphibious marsh plant from Madagascar, Mauritius and neighbouring Indian Ocean islands, with further populations in coastal East Africa, southern India and Sri Lanka. It grows in sunny spots along pools, ditches and slow waters, standing emersed on wet ground for much of the year and submersed when water levels rise.
Good to know
A member of Lythraceae, the loosestrife family, and still sold almost everywhere as Nesaea triflora. Molecular work showed that Ammannia is not a natural genus without the Nesaea species, so the whole of Nesaea was folded into Ammannia; this plant passed briefly through the name Ammannia mauritiana before Ammannia capitellata settled as the accepted name. It is a finer-textured plant than its showier relatives, with narrow paired leaves on pale stems that carry a pink to orange marbling.
Did you know
The genus Nesaea no longer exists; every species was transferred into Ammannia once DNA work showed the two could not be kept apart. The trade has simply ignored the change, so this plant still ships worldwide under a genus name botany retired.
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