TankBud

Ranunculus

Ranunculus inundatus

Also known as River buttercup, Umbrella grass, Inundated buttercup, River plate

FreshwaterRhizomeRunnersRhizome division

Ranunculus (Ranunculus inundatus)
Vitro Culture · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Light
High light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
59–82°F
15–28°C
Max height
5.9 in
15 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Foreground
Type
Rhizome
pH
5.0–8.0
Hardness
2–14 dGH
Spread
7.9 in (20 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root feeder
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Medium
Family
Ranunculaceae
Origin
Southeastern Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia)

Overview

A creeping rhizome plant that spreads by runners, so treat it as a foreground to midground carpet rather than a stem you top and replant. It usually sulks for a few weeks after planting before it settles, then throws out lateral runners; strong light keeps the umbrella leaves short and compact while low light stretches the stalks and it loses its scale. It appreciates a nutrient-rich substrate and benefits from CO2, and new daughter plants along the runners can be snipped off and replanted.

In the wild

An amphibious perennial buttercup from the coast and tablelands of southeastern Australia, ranging across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. In the wild it creeps over wet mud and through the shallows of ponds, dams and slow rivers, spreading widely by rhizomes while sending up its distinctive umbrella-shaped leaves. It tolerates seasonal drying and can carpet boggy ground several metres across.

Good to know

A true buttercup in the family Ranunculaceae, and unusual among aquarium plants for that reason. Rather than a stem it grows from a creeping rhizome that runs along or just below the substrate, throwing up rooted leaf stalks at each node. The deeply divided three-lobed leaves on long petioles give it the umbrella-grass look and separate it from the round-leaved Hydrocotyle it is often compared to.

Did you know

It is a genuine buttercup, one of very few Ranunculus grown underwater, so this delicate umbrella-leaved carpet plant is a close relative of the yellow meadow buttercups found in fields across the world.

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