TankBud

Vallisneria spiralis

Also known as Tape grass, Eelgrass, Straight vallisneria, Italian val

FreshwaterBrackishRosetteRunners

Vallisneria spiralis (Vallisneria spiralis)
Aquarium Plants Factory · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Light
Low light
CO2
No CO₂ needed
Temperature
59–86°F
15–30°C
Max height
19.7 in
50 cm
Growth rate
Fast
Placement
Background
Type
Rosette
pH
6.5–8.0
Hardness
4–18 dGH
Spread
5.9 in (15 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed
Difficulty
Beginner
Family
Hydrocharitaceae
Origin
Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia

Overview

Plant individual rosettes in the substrate as a background plant, keeping the white crown (where leaves meet roots) above the soil so it does not rot. It is one of the easiest plants in the hobby, thriving in low light with no CO2 and pulling nutrients from both roots and water column, so root tabs help in inert gravel. It spreads quickly by runners, so expect to thin daughter plants, and avoid glutaraldehyde liquid carbon products (like Excel) which can melt the leaves.

In the wild

Vallisneria spiralis is a true aquatic found in slow rivers, ponds, and ditches across southern Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, often in hard, alkaline water. It grows fully submersed as a rosette of long ribbon leaves rooted in the riverbed. In the wild it spreads along the bottom by runners to form dense underwater meadows.

Good to know

It belongs to the family Hydrocharitaceae and is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The species name spiralis refers not to the leaves but to the long coiled flower stalk on the female plant, which spirals down to pull the pollinated flower back underwater. Each leaf typically shows about five longitudinal veins, and the plant grows from a basal rosette rather than a creeping rhizome.

Did you know

The female flowers reach the surface on a tightly coiled stalk to be pollinated, then the stalk corkscrews back down so the developing seed pod ripens safely underwater.

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