TankBud

Whorled pennywort

Hydrocotyle verticillata

Also known as Whorled marsh-pennywort, Shield pennywort, Umbrella pennywort

FreshwaterCarpetingRunners

Whorled pennywort (Hydrocotyle verticillata)
Aquarium Plants Factory · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Light
High light
CO2
CO₂ beneficial
Temperature
64–81°F
18–27°C
Max height
3.9 in
10 cm
Growth rate
Medium
Placement
Foreground
Type
Carpeting
pH
5.0–7.5
Hardness
0–15 dGH
Spread
5.9 in (15 cm)
Nutrient uptake
Root + water column
Growth region
Submersed or emersed
Difficulty
Difficult
Family
Araliaceae
Origin
Warmer regions of the Americas, from North and Central America through the Caribbean to South America

Overview

Whorled pennywort is a creeping pennywort with umbrella-shaped leaves that can carpet the foreground. Underwater it is rated a difficult plant.

Did you know

Whorled pennywort looks completely different above and below water. Emersed, it grows well and quickly and throws up tall umbrella-leaved stalks like a bog plant. Submerged under high light, it hugs the substrate as a low carpet.

Caring for whorled pennywort

Split whorled pennywort into small clumps and push each one into the substrate with tweezers, leaving gaps for it to fill. It suits the foreground or the midground. Keep the water at 64 to 81°F (18 to 27°C).

Give it high light from a strong LED to keep it compact. In weaker light it grows upward, leggy and tall, instead of creeping across the substrate. It grows without injected CO2, but added CO2 speeds it up and helps it stay compact. It feeds through both roots and leaves, so use root tabs near its roots along with a liquid fertilizer.

Submerged, it grows at a moderate pace. It spreads by runners along the substrate, and a new plant can be cut free once it has roots. Trim often to keep the patch flat and dense.

Good to know

Whorled pennywort is placed in the family Araliaceae, formerly Apiaceae. It is told from Hydrocotyle leucocephala by its symmetric, slotless umbrella-shaped leaves. The species name verticillata refers to the whorled arrangement of the flowers and leaf stalks. It is also called shield pennywort or umbrella pennywort.

In the wild

Whorled pennywort is a marsh and wetland plant from the warmer Americas, from North and Central America through the Caribbean to South America. It grows in damp ground and shallow water. Its round, parasol-shaped leaves sit on single stalks, and it spreads by creeping runners.

Common questions

Does whorled pennywort need to be planted in the substrate?

Yes. Split it into small clumps and push each one into the substrate with tweezers, leaving gaps for it to fill.

Does whorled pennywort need CO2?

No, but it helps. Whorled pennywort can grow without injected CO2, and added CO2 makes it grow faster.

How much light does whorled pennywort need?

Whorled pennywort needs high light from a strong planted-tank LED. In weaker light it grows upward instead of spreading across the substrate.

Does whorled pennywort need root tabs?

They help. Whorled pennywort takes nutrients through both its roots and its leaves. Root tabs near its roots and a liquid fertilizer cover both.

How do you propagate whorled pennywort?

Whorled pennywort propagates by runners. New plants grow along its runners. Cut one free once it has roots and plant it.

How tall does whorled pennywort grow?

Whorled pennywort grows to about 3.9 in (10 cm) tall. It grows at a moderate pace.

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