Persicaria praetermissa

Care at a glance

Overview

The diagonal growth habit is the reason to keep this plant: shoots lean and sprawl rather than climb, so it fills the midground and drapes over hardscape in a way vertical stems cannot. Underwater it turns brown-red to brown-orange, strongest under good light with CO2 and steady nutrients, though it survives on less at the cost of colour and density. Plant cuttings in open substrate and let the sparsely branched shoots run; trim back to a node and replant the tops when it wanders too far. It is not difficult by Persicaria standards, but it sulks in lean, dim tanks. Give it room sideways rather than height when planning the layout.

In the wild

Native to large areas of tropical Asia and Australia, where it grows in marshes, wet ditches and on the muddy margins of still water. Like its relatives it is amphibious, standing emersed on wet ground and growing fully submersed when flooded. Aquarium stock converts readily between the two forms.

Good to know

A knotweed in the family Polygonaceae that entered the hobby under the trade name Polygonum sp. 'Ruby' and was later identified as Persicaria praetermissa. The species name means overlooked or passed over. It carries narrow, spear-shaped alternate leaves to about 7.5 cm on short petioles, and unlike most stem plants its shoots grow squarrose, leaning diagonally to almost horizontally rather than heading straight for the surface.

Did you know

The species name praetermissa means overlooked, which fits a plant that spent years in the hobby under the wrong name before anyone worked out what Polygonum sp. 'Ruby' actually was.

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