Star grass

Care at a glance

Overview

Give star grass strong light to keep it compact, since it stretches and looks leggy in dim tanks. It grows much better with CO2 and steady dosing, though patient keepers can manage it in bright light without. Plant stems a couple of centimeters apart in the background and trim the tops often, replanting the cuttings to thicken the group.

In the wild

Star grass forms upright stems set with whorls of narrow, bright green leaves that spread into a star shape when viewed from above. In the wild it grows in slow, nutrient-rich waters where it can carpet large areas and reach the surface. Given room and light it branches freely into a dense, feathery thicket.

Good to know

Heteranthera zosterifolia belongs to the pickerelweed family, Pontederiaceae, and is the only widely kept aquarium plant in its genus. The genus name refers to its two unequal stamens, a detail seen in its small flowers. It is closely related to the mud plantains of the Americas.

Did you know

Under bright light the leaves fan out into a neat star pattern that gives the plant its common name.

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