Coralite

Eriocaulon aquaticum is a species which I recently collected growing emerged just a few inches from the waterline of a lake in Rhinelander Wisconsin. I know it is not a "new" plant but it's use in our tanks seems to be greatly limited for some reason. I have been growing it submerged for 3 weeks now and I am really digging this plant. In soft water, well dosed, strong light and CO2 this plant is adapting well with dense foliage and splitting quite rapidly. I wonder what the foreground will look like once I stop pulling it up to split up daughter plants. Here are some pics of Eriocaulon aquaticum alone and in a foreground.


@ E. cinereums in the back left, 2 E. aussie II in the back right

marrow

I have some of these in my tanks as well. About half of mine went dormant last year and almost disappeared, about half just slowed their growth down but maintained some growth. I mailed some around to other folks and they did not have much luck with them. I have a bunch of them in photos in the biotopes section and their flowers. I saw some growing completely above the waterline due to the recent drought cycle and they developed very different foliage. They also seem to get much bigger leaves in a fish tank then out in the shallows in full sun. Please keep us posted as to how well they do in terms of dormancy for the next few months.

mrkookm

They'll eventually grow apart and become 'loose' from the bunch IME.

Marrow if i remember correctly you gave a few of 1 of these a while back when you found them by a lake or pond close to your home.....right? Anyway I've been growing these without any problems in regards to dormancy as you experienced and they've been splitting quite frequently for meas well and it's definitely one of the easier to maintain Erio sp.


Very nice plants indeed Coralite!

marrow

Yes kookm , I did send you some and am glad it managed well for you.. In either case I have figured out the dormancy thing this year after watching them all summer, I have some in tanks, some in planters outside and a bunch in my pond. If you grab them early from the wild when the roots are still white and growth vigorous they do not go dormant in tanks if you grab them when the roots have gone entirely brownish they apparently have already started the one way march towards dormancy. Dormancy has started in the lakes around me already for most of the wild ones I checked. My pond is warmer and they havent started yet and my ones in planters and tanks are fine. They are the only erio that I have managed to grow well in my hard limestone aquifer water. Other erios just grow so slowly in this water as to be almost frozen. Even with EI, co2 mist hi light, aquasoil etc. The surface water here is much softer then the water the town pulls from the aquifier which is liquid rock.

armedbiggiet

Got any emersed pictures??? There should be some in MD as well...

marrow

check the minnesota lake pics in the biotope section. All the white flower ones are E. aquaticum

Coralite

Here are some emersed pictures of when I collected this species in Rhinelander. The submerged leaves are now 2-3x longer than they were when growing emersed.

armedbiggiet

wow did not know they were like this out side in the wild... I know in some state it is endanger species so hope people don't go out there collect them like crazy.

Coralite

The only threatened Eriocaulon is the dwarf pipewort,Eriocaulon koernickianum. There's no way to know if this plant is truly threatened because it's small size makes it extremely hard to find unless it is in flower.

marrow

Eriocaulon aquaticum is pretty much ubiquitous in non-urban lakes in minnesota. I read a report from either the U of M or the DNR where it was suggested they might be classified as threatened or some similar classification but then they went out to count them and found so many that the idea was shelved.