Matt Holbrook-Bull
Founder
Ulsterexile was very kind to send me some of this plant, so I thought Id copy the Tropica information sheet about it to here. Its a facinating plant, with properties very similar to Riccia, but it sinks! Which is what we've all been after. this could open up a great many new avenues on the scaping front. Enjoy
Monosolenium tenerum is extremely rare in the wild, and only found in small colonies in India, China, Taiwan, Japan and possibly Thailand. Monosolenium tenerum is a sort of aquatic parallel to the Gingko biloba (maidenhair tree), an ancient ‘living fossil’ among plants, which is rarely seen in the wild, but which has become very popular in cultivation.
Monosolenium tenerum is a liverwort, and does not technically have leaves. The green part of the plant, which resembles leaves, is known among botanists as the thallus (plural thalli), and this thallus divides into fork-like branches, giving a cushion-formed growth. Monosolenium tenerum looks very much like Riccia magnified ten times. Riccia is well known for floating on the surface unless it is anchored with fishing line or a hairnet to the bottom, and because it requires extremely favourable growth conditions to flourish.
Monosolenium tenerum is much easier to grow! It is heavier than water, and therefore remains on the bottom. It only makes modest demands on the aquarium environment, and once it has begun to flourish it spreads generously and forms attractive cushions on the bottom of the aquarium. However, the plant is quite brittle, and falls apart easily during transport, so transplanting it initially into the aquarium may not be easy. To give it the best possible start, it can be attached with nylon line to a stone, or small sprays can be scattered between other plants such as Eleocharis, which will prevent it from being carried about in the aquarium by fish or water circulation.
When Monosolenium tenerum begins to thrive in the aquarium, it develops a green leaf-like structure almost 1 cm wide, which forks every 1 – 1.5 cm. The thallus is an attractive, slightly translucent olive green, and flourishes in a wide temperature range, from 5º to 30ºC. It grows in shade or full sunlight, and is tolerant of hard or soft water. If Monosolenium tenerum is grown under less favourable conditions, it develops a longer leaf structure (2 – 3 cm), which is narrower (3 – 5 mm), and less decorative.
On the underside of the leaf structure attachment filaments form as very fine, threadlike growths known as rhizoids, and can anchor the plant to stones or tree roots, but this attachment is not particularly effective under water. Even if it is not attached to the bottom, the plant forms rhizoids, which can be seen under water as a diffuse veil on the underside of the thalli. Under ideal conditions in an aquarium with plenty of light and CO2, many tiny oxygen bubbles will form and catch in the rhizoids. These may cause parts of the plant to break away from the bottom and rise to the surface.
Monosolenium tenerum can be grown in a moist terrarium or in small plastic boxes on the window sill, provided it is not too hot. It has not yet been found under water in the wild, but it is probably only a matter of time before evidence of underwater growth will be found. Monosolenium tenerum is not apparently eaten by fish, but the fish can swim around in the plant and thus spread it around the aquarium! It can be used as a foreground plant or arranged sloping upwards in large cushion formations in the background. If you can imagine it, you can do it!
Its number at Tropica is 002C
Monosolenium tenerum is extremely rare in the wild, and only found in small colonies in India, China, Taiwan, Japan and possibly Thailand. Monosolenium tenerum is a sort of aquatic parallel to the Gingko biloba (maidenhair tree), an ancient ‘living fossil’ among plants, which is rarely seen in the wild, but which has become very popular in cultivation.
Monosolenium tenerum is a liverwort, and does not technically have leaves. The green part of the plant, which resembles leaves, is known among botanists as the thallus (plural thalli), and this thallus divides into fork-like branches, giving a cushion-formed growth. Monosolenium tenerum looks very much like Riccia magnified ten times. Riccia is well known for floating on the surface unless it is anchored with fishing line or a hairnet to the bottom, and because it requires extremely favourable growth conditions to flourish.
Monosolenium tenerum is much easier to grow! It is heavier than water, and therefore remains on the bottom. It only makes modest demands on the aquarium environment, and once it has begun to flourish it spreads generously and forms attractive cushions on the bottom of the aquarium. However, the plant is quite brittle, and falls apart easily during transport, so transplanting it initially into the aquarium may not be easy. To give it the best possible start, it can be attached with nylon line to a stone, or small sprays can be scattered between other plants such as Eleocharis, which will prevent it from being carried about in the aquarium by fish or water circulation.
When Monosolenium tenerum begins to thrive in the aquarium, it develops a green leaf-like structure almost 1 cm wide, which forks every 1 – 1.5 cm. The thallus is an attractive, slightly translucent olive green, and flourishes in a wide temperature range, from 5º to 30ºC. It grows in shade or full sunlight, and is tolerant of hard or soft water. If Monosolenium tenerum is grown under less favourable conditions, it develops a longer leaf structure (2 – 3 cm), which is narrower (3 – 5 mm), and less decorative.
On the underside of the leaf structure attachment filaments form as very fine, threadlike growths known as rhizoids, and can anchor the plant to stones or tree roots, but this attachment is not particularly effective under water. Even if it is not attached to the bottom, the plant forms rhizoids, which can be seen under water as a diffuse veil on the underside of the thalli. Under ideal conditions in an aquarium with plenty of light and CO2, many tiny oxygen bubbles will form and catch in the rhizoids. These may cause parts of the plant to break away from the bottom and rise to the surface.
Monosolenium tenerum can be grown in a moist terrarium or in small plastic boxes on the window sill, provided it is not too hot. It has not yet been found under water in the wild, but it is probably only a matter of time before evidence of underwater growth will be found. Monosolenium tenerum is not apparently eaten by fish, but the fish can swim around in the plant and thus spread it around the aquarium! It can be used as a foreground plant or arranged sloping upwards in large cushion formations in the background. If you can imagine it, you can do it!
Its number at Tropica is 002C