Crinum natans

African Onion Plant

Crinum natans is a plant of the Amaryllidaceae family, originally from West Africa. It forms crinkled leaves submerged and floating, does not have a large root system and if kept in the right conditions it also manages to bloom small flowers that resemble lilies.

Native to: Cameroon, Central African Repu, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zaïre.

Submitted by: Natasha Khardina

GPS: 2.1409450, 21.4618988

Geographical region
Drainage Basin
River catchment
Water body type
Water body name
Water body part
Water body course
Water body: tributary of
Tributary name

Type locality: Equatorial Guinea, Fernando Po.
Conservation status/IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)
Listed in CITES: No

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Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type: Fresh water
Water color: Black water
Water transparency: High
Concentration of sediments: Low
Water temperature: 24.5-27.5 °C
Water flow/curent: Slow

Chemical parameters

pH: 5.7-6.5
Conductivity
GH
KH
Dissolved Oxygen

Phytology

Plant form

Submersed

Plant type

Bulb/onion

Plant size

120-150 cm

Plant growth rate

Slow

Plant light demand

High

CO2

Low

Aquarium equipment

Because of its big size, this species has to be positioned in the background of a large aquarium, best if in central position. It is very scenic and visually impacting to see its long leaves floating on the water line.

Plant care

This species does not require particular attention in terms of light to grow well. The minimum requirement, in fact, is 0.5 watts / liter and over. It also has no particular fertilization needs: it would be enough to have a good fertile bottom, rich in nutrients or column fertilize.

Water care

This species can live safely in soft and hard waters, with pH from 6 up to 8. It must be said that this species prefers soft waters. The same cannot be said for the temperatures, it can not stand temperatures below 24 degrees or above 28. Another peculiarity of this plant is that it prefers rough waters.