TankBud

Tonina fluviatilis

Also known as Tonina, Paepalanthus fluviatilis

FreshwaterStemSide shootsCuttings

Tonina fluviatilis (Tonina fluviatilis)
Vitro Culture · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Light
High light
CO2
CO₂ required
Temperature
68–86°F
20–30°C
Max height
13.8 in
35 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Background
Type
Stem
pH
5.0–7.0
Hardness
0–8 dGH
Spread
2 in (5 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Difficult
Family
Eriocaulaceae
Origin
Southern Mexico and Central America through northern South America (Amazon basin), plus Cuba and Trinidad

Overview

A softwater stem plant that needs strong light, injected CO2, and low KH (4 or less) with a low-to-moderate GH to keep its growth points from stunting. It is not a strong root feeder, so steady water-column dosing of iron and micros matters more than substrate, and nitrate/phosphate must never bottom out to zero. Propagate from healthy side shoots a few centimetres long.

In the wild

Found in shallow, slow-moving blackwater streams and pools from southern Mexico and Central America through the northern Amazon basin, often growing as floating or emergent mats. It thrives in the very soft, acidic, tannin-stained water typical of these habitats.

Good to know

Tonina is a monotypic genus (T. fluviatilis is its only species) within the pipewort family, Eriocaulaceae, so it is a botanical relative of Eriocaulon and Syngonanthus rather than a true stem plant like Rotala. Several regional variants circulate with different leaf sizes and occasional variegation. It produces whorls of narrow leaves around an upright stem.

Did you know

Did you know Tonina looks like a stem plant but is really a pipewort? Its genus is monotypic, meaning T. fluviatilis is the single species in the entire genus Tonina.

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