Orchid lily Rosea
Barclaya longifolia 'Rosea'
Also known as Barclaya longifolia 'Red', Red orchid lily
Care at a glance
- Light
- Medium light
- CO2
- CO₂ beneficial
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Placement
- Midground
- Type
- Bulb / tuber
- Temperature
- 72–82°F (22–28°C)
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Hardness
- 2–12 dGH
- Max height
- 15.7 in (40 cm)
- Spread
- 9.8 in (25 cm)
- Nutrient uptake
- Root + water column
- Growth region
- Submersed
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Origin
- Southeast Asia (Indochina to northwest Peninsular Malaysia, including Thailand)
- Family
- Nymphaeaceae
Overview
A midground specimen for a warm, settled tank. Plant the tuber shallowly with the growing tip clear of the substrate, over a nutrient-rich bottom, and keep the water warm, ideally 24 °C and up; it sulks in cool tanks. Medium light suits it, with stronger light and CO2 deepening the red. New leaves are soft and snails chew them readily. Do not panic if the plant abruptly drops every leaf: the tuber takes resting phases of a few weeks and then resprouts. Propagate from offsets and side shoots on the tuber, or from its freely set seed.
In the wild
Rosea is the trade label for the red colour form of Barclaya longifolia, not a separate wild plant. The species grows in Southeast Asia, from Indochina down to Peninsular Malaysia, in warm streams and forest brooks over soft bottoms, often shaded, growing from a tuber-like rhizome that can rest dormant between growth phases.
Good to know
A true member of the water lily family Nymphaeaceae that never makes floating leaves; everything stays submersed. The species comes in a green form and this red form, whose long, wavy, arrow-shaped leaves are red to red-violet above with a mauve underside; the red form stays a little smaller than the green. Flowers are self-pollinating and set viable seed freely.
Did you know
Barclaya flowers can pollinate themselves without ever opening, so a healthy plant quietly sets viable seed underwater and seedlings sometimes turn up in the gravel around the mother plant.
Appears in
Growing Orchid lily Rosea?
Track your planted tank, set reminders and plan your layout.
Planning tankmates
See how Orchid lily Rosea 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
Orchid lily
Barclaya longifoliaFreshwaterMedium lightMidground15.7 in (40 cm)
Tiger lotus
Nymphaea lotusFreshwaterMedium lightMidground19.7 in (50 cm)
Red tiger lotus
Nymphaea lotusFreshwaterMedium lightMidground23.6 in (60 cm)
Red water lily
Nymphaea rubraFreshwaterMedium lightMidground23.6 in (60 cm)
Dwarf aquarium lily
Nymphaea nouchaliFreshwaterMedium lightMidground9.8 in (25 cm)
Micrantha lily
Nymphaea micranthaFreshwaterMedium lightMidground9.8 in (25 cm)