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Plant Identification!

Amy147

Seedling
Joined
19 Jun 2019
Messages
3
Location
Dorset
Hi everyone, i appreciate it can be difficult from an image, but does anyone have a clue what this plant may be?
I got it on an offer with some other plants but not sure of it's requirements as it was unlabelled, and not sure where to place it in the tank. The staff in the store didn't know, as the plant expert there was on holiday! Thanks in advance. Amy
20190630_145019.jpg
 
Sometimes it is hard to keep them apart and determine which species is what with Hydrocotyle.. Tho its definitively not H.tripartita. Tripartita grows a very small leaf almost resambling clover leaf.

H.verticillata comes close tho it looks a tad to big leaf for its age using your hand as reference. The verticillata common name is Whorled pennywort, because it stays more compact and rather low to the substrate with sometimes whorling and shorter stolons. With it's leaves popping out like little standing mushrooms. And the leaf stays more in a round and sometimes almost square shape. Regarding leafshape it resambles it's european cousin H.vulgaris closly but smaller and more delicate. Both show the vaines on the leaf more distinct from the centre out like a spoke in a wheel. Our common name for this plant is Water Navel (Belly Button), because of its almost perfect round leaf with it's centre laying deeper as if its a belly button.

While H.leucocephala grows a tad bigger leaf, creeping around with longer straight stolons. Leucocephala growing and maturing emersed is till now the only Hydrocotyle i've seen develop a redish colored stem. And emersed form leaves tend to grow rather oval almost in a kidney shape and doesn't show these vains on the leaf as distinct. Even tho its a Hydrocotyle, we don't call it Water Navel but Brasilian Ivy, because it can easily grow verticaly up and out of the tank if finds hold in other larger plants.

These could be features to determine, what its not. :)

Hydrocotyl is very easy plant to grow on emersed, keep it for example in a small greenhouse on the window sill with the pot in a dish of water. Let it mature a few weeks and it would make ID a lot easier.

I use the IKEA Socker greenhouse for experiments like that. Very nice and cheap window sill green house.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70186603/
 
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Hydrocotyle verticillata is quite a common plant. It prefers very moist soils and also grows in shallow water. It differs from the more wide-spread H. leucocephala by the form of its leaves that are formed like a tiny parasol and have no slot/notch!

So it could be Hydrocotyle verticillata;)
hoggie
 
Hi all, That would be my thought as well. Mainly because of the "parasol" (<"technically peltate">) leaf. The notch is a "sinus".

cheers Darrel

That is where i also strugle the most with trying to give a description and make sense at the same time.. Finding the correct botanical terms. This also differs a lot from one language to another with the common scientific terms used. Quite a huge list to dig into let stand to remember..
 
Yes that does all make sense, as soon as I saw the word verticillata you got me thinking I might have been to quick to the gun. Another win for the ukaps community. Well done folks :)
 
Hi all, Tricky, they are a mix of Latin, Greek, German and English.

Is there a Netherlands Flora? We have <"Stace"> in the UK, and that has a glossary of botanical terms etc.

cheers Darrel


I don't know of any book with an extensive glossary, tho it likely excists.. But found this one online.
http://www.ideboda.nl/botanic.html

Tho still it aint easy since i'm not all the way familiar with our common terms.

Tho we have complete field guide for all European species, plants, trees, mamals, birds, fish, amphibians etc. This contains i believe a glossary of terms used in the text. I actualy do have it, but i missplaced it somewhere long ago in a box with other books i stored in the attic i think.
I always liked to use it very much, specialy the flower section is easy to use, all pages are color marked, all pages with red corner are about red flowering plants etc.

ANWB Nature Field Guide

And also 13 compact pocket field guides for each seperate group as well. flower guide, bird guide, mushroom guide, tree guide etc.

But it contains nothing tropical.
 
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Thanks everyone! with further research im almost certain its Hydrocotyle verticillata. It's recommended as a foreground plant which will look great!
 
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