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Monosolenium tenerum

Joined
10 Jun 2007
Messages
961
Location
Dorset, UK
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.

monosolenium1.jpg


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
 
Yes I have used this plant in the past, tough plant, fast grower when it gets going, lots of things you can do with it alright.

Some of the mini liveworts are probably more useful though if you are using a small tank for scaping purposes, these usually grow quite slowly though.
 
Can you give us some tips to get that fast growth Zig?

I've just bought some (before Ulsterexile made his offer!) and have anchored a thin layer down on a terracota cave and waiting for it to do it's thing! Any tips on what to do to get the best out of it will be most appreciated!

BTW it's under about 2wpg with pressurised CO2, but under minimal fertilisation.
 
I had some Mini Pellia and it became such an algae magnet and grew si slowly that I binned it last weekend.

Would be interested in knowing how to get it to grow quicker though. might try again one day

Andy
 
That is a great article and a lovely picture of the mono at it's best (compared to mine!).

I love the mini-pellia too - do you find it much different in nature to the mono?
 
eds said:
Can you give us some tips to get that fast growth Zig?

I've just bought some (before Ulsterexile made his offer!) and have anchored a thin layer down on a terracota cave and waiting for it to do it's thing! Any tips on what to do to get the best out of it will be most appreciated!

BTW it's under about 2wpg with pressurised CO2, but under minimal fertilisation.

Don't know if there is any secret eds, its one of those plants I would consider easy but I always had it in a properly fertilised tank, once it got going I found it grew relatively quickly, just give it time to do its thing and Im sure it will do the same for you, it can grow into a very nice shape very easily by simply tieing it onto some type of object, thats the beauty of it I think, its growth pattern is quite unique as well, hard to go wrong with it really, a very nice plant, much easier less messy than riccia IMO, I'd say you will be farming it out soon enough!

I never grew the mini liveworts so have no real experience with them, they are probably similar to bolbitis in that its also an algae magnet under highlight, but under lower or shaded light grows beautifully, very similar type transparent leafs on both of these plants but totally unrelated species AFAIK.
 
I thought that since there was so much infomation being shared about this plant I'd post this link to some lovely pictures of mono found on theteh.com and there are some even more impressive pics of mini-pellia on the same site, here.
 
Love that mini pelia, but 4 months to get it growing well would test my patience, if I had any!!!
 
The mini mono looks realy nice, i want some of that!
Ulster the mono you kindly sent has never arrived, think its something to do with the bloody postal strike.
Never mind.
 
:eek: :wideyed: Not surprised tbh after I received a cheque today which was sent Thursday 30th July! (Luckily for me it wasn't my cheque, but I'd hate to be the pensioner waiting on it :rolleyes: )

I'll send some more to you Graeme, but if you don't mind, I'll wait until this postal strike is over (I've 5 other SAE's waiting to be filled and sent then too ;) )
 
ulster exile said:
:eek: :wideyed: Not surprised tbh after I received a cheque today which was sent Thursday 30th July! (Luckily for me it wasn't my cheque, but I'd hate to be the pensioner waiting on it :rolleyes: )

I'll send some more to you Graeme, but if you don't mind, I'll wait until this postal strike is over (I've 5 other SAE's waiting to be filled and sent then too ;) )

Mines settling in nicely now Ulster :) thanks again for sending me mine.. its gunna rock!
 
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