plant Easy level

Pontederia azurea (Sw.) Kunth

Anchored water hyacinth

Pontederia azurea is a very attractive waterplant. It forms dense floating carpets of several metre-long shoots with emersed spoon-shaped leaves and beautiful white, purple or azure blue flowers on stagnant and flowing waters.

Distribution: It is widely spread in the American tropics and subtropics, from the South of the USA to Argentine.

Introduced into: Bangladesh, Florida

Submitted by: Benedetta Spelta

GPS: -25.0945053, -57.8511505

Geographical region: South America
Drainage Basin: Paraguay
River catchment
Water body type: Rio
Water body name: Pilcomayo
Water body part
Water body course: Lower course
Water body: tributary of: Rio
Tributary name: Paraguay

Type locality: Brazil
Conservation status/IUCN Red List: Not Evaluated (NE)
Listed in CITES: No

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Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type: Fresh water
Water color: Clear water
Water transparency: Low
Concentration of sediments: High
Water temperature: 6-33 °C
Water flow/curent: Slow

Chemical parameters

pH: 6.0-8.0
Conductivity
GH: max. 10.0 mg/l
KH
Dissolved Oxygen

Phytology

Plant form

Semi-submersed

Plant type

Stem

Plant size

50 cm

Plant growth rate

Plant light demand

Medium

CO2

Low

Aquarium equipment

This plant can be used as eemi-emersed plant for open tanks, or in the background or midground of an aquarium. Also, can be used as water surface plant. This species is most suitable for tanks with a height of 50 and more.

Plant care

This kind of planting is not without difficulties, however, as the submersed shoots grow to a width of at least 20 cm, and thus need lots of room, and because the very fragile submersed leaves must not be squeezed when they are planted, or else they turn blackish.

The plant can be far better integrated into a design as a solitaire. Propagation is easily done by head cuttings. Also, this plant needs ample amounts of nutrients, or the leaves tend to turn blackish at the bottom.

Water care