[Tex Gal]

I got a plant many moons ago from two different people which I thought was Sao Paulo. The last time I trimmed and sold the plant I was contacted by two very "in the know" people telling me that they thought I had Kawagoneum NOT Sao Paulo. It grows up but if I trim it, it will branch out. It has the red/pink color only on the top leaves, which are nearest to the light.
Here is a px of what I have:

Does anyone have a px of a true Sao Paulo? It's supposed to be magenta all the way down the stem. I would love to see them side by side so that I can see the differences. I need a px where the differences are glaring.

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

If you sent me what is in the picture, it is "Sao Paulo." Mine is red/magenta all the way through.

Tell me if this make you jealous:

 

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Your tanks/plants are so beautiful you don't have to have an exact ID

Lol but from the pictures I've seen, Kawagoeanum has 2 leaves coming out from the same node, and Sao Paulo has one leaf slight higher than the other leaf.

 

[Cavan Allen]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

These two plants are frequently confused, but they are very different. 'Sao Paulo' always grows in a strictly vertical fashion and not in the spreading manner of the plant pictured here. In addition, its newest leaves curve downward. Its color is a stronger magenta that is usually seen all the way up and down the stem. There's more to it than that of course, but those properties are more than sufficient for differentiation.

Good pics of both are in the Plant Finder.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ails.php?id=243&category=genus&spec=Polygonum
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ails.php?id=239&category=genus&spec=Polygonum

 

[Tex Gal]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Thanks Zoo. I hate to be selling a plant mislabeled. I do love the plant.

Don - it's FABULOUS!! Your tank is so huge you have plenty of room for your "BRILLIANT SUN" to penetrate to the substrate. Did I send that to you? I only have one kind. (OK, I'm gonna up my light when my rescape is done....cross your fingers for me!)

I'd like to see the difference in the two plants. My google search turned up a different growth pattern with one leaves growing down from where they sprout out at the top. The other (what I have and what Don has px'd) has the new sprouts and leaves growing up.

Sure wish I could see them side by side in the tank. I hope to get a piece of Sao Paulo (truly ID'd) from someone soon. It's emersed, but will change over. Then I can see the difference side by side!.

 

[Coralite]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

My Sao Paulo grows phone pole straight, even with the side branches. Here is a pic of it not at it's most purple but you get the idea.

 

[Tex Gal]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Just found this on the net. I added the words which were in the description underneath. I just superimposed them onto the photo.

Coralite I see the straight growth and the turned down leaf. But if I look at Don's and yours they are so similar. Sure wish I could put them side by side!!

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

I think yours is "overgrown" and "just a tad underlit" Poly Sao Paulo. It is a glutton for iron, phosphorus, and I do not plant any more than two stems together. It needs appreciable room to grow. And super-light! Nitrogen tends to pale the color to yellow or green. I would guess that you dose nitrogen with some regularity from the looks of the Sao Paulo you have? CUT IT OUT and STOP IT!

 

[Tex Gal]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Don - what do you think about the last px I just posted?

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

I think it looks great!

How do you mean? Do you mean "do you think I have Sao Paulo or Kawa.?" I am pretty sure you and I both have Sao Paulo........

 

[Cavan Allen]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

After I send some to Tex Gal, she can send some to you. You'll see what I mean then.

 

[Tex Gal]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

You are a good man Cavan Allen!!! The mystery will be solved!

Don - your camera must have an overstaurated setting! It just has too.

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Pretty sure that is what it looks like in person....if not more purple-red then the brick red.....but the growth pattern is more Sao Paulo than it is Kawagoneum.

Regardless, Cavan's right. The only way to tell is to grow some out next to it for comparison. Now that I think of it, I believe that I got the Sao Paulo from Riley and not from you. It is getting late, and my eyes are going........to sleepy!

 

[Coralite]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

I think yours is "overgrown" and "just a tad underlit" Poly Sao Paulo. I would guess that you dose nitrogen with some regularity from the looks of the Sao Paulo you have? CUT IT OUT and STOP IT!

You are absolutely right! It is overgrown but it sits right under a 250 DE ADA halide so it gets plenty of light. I am in the process of cutting back my nitrogen dosing because it has considerably paled many of my red plants. Here is a pic of a single stem of Sao Paulo I keep in a more low tech and infrequently dosed tank. My low tech gets considerably better colors but the growth rate is very slow, which is fine cause it's a small tank.

 

[Tex Gal]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Coralite - Don was yelling at me. It's a running joke between us about the reds... He thinks I should turn my lights up and my KNO3 down.... I'm tempted.... but don't want to hurt my L. Guinea and others.

 

[imeridian]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Tex Gal, I'm glad you asked about this. I have both types, at least allegedly. This thread has given me cause to more closely examine the differences. Provided mine were labeled correctly I would also say that you have Kawagoneum. I'd hardly consider myself to be an authority on the topic though.

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Now, now....I don't yell. I goof around!

Regardless, I am still pretty sure that you have Sao Paulo. The side shoots are confusing the ID, as well as the regular additions of KNO3. If you can take a close up pic of one stem, I believe that we could all answer this issue conclusively. The color of the stems/leaves at the top is too close for it to not be Sao Paulo, as I had Sao Paulo do that exact type of growth and coloration for me in the past. The growth of yours is vertical; you just have a ton of side shoots. The leaf pattern also appears to be Sao Paulo (look closer to the top of the stems), and the leaf coloration is more "purple-red" then just "red" like Kawagoneum gets. The leaves also appear do not appear to droop at the top; they only appear to at first glance due to the prolific abundance of side shoots. If you trimmed this plant, removed the side shoots (and sold them), got rid of the floaters directly above it, and cut your KNO3 (don't worry....I know it'll never happen), you would see this plant look more like mine and Coralite's.

Either it is true Sao Paulo in a less than optimal state (no offense, TexGal!!!), or it is a hybrid. I hate to go against the grain of Cavan and others on this thread. If you can get a closer shot of one stem, especially if you can get a shot of the apex, then we would all know for sure. Until then, I am 99% sure it is Sao Paulo!

As a quick aside: I did not get Sao Paulo from you, Tex. Our first shipment was "flukey," and I didn't get it before everything inside was dead (NOTE TO PUBLIC: THIS WAS A UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE PROBLEM AND NOT TEXGAL'S FAULT!!!!), and the re-try did not include any Sao Paulo which means that I got my Sao Paulo from a different person. In fact, it is very likely that it is mine that I gave to this person, who gave it back to me when I set up my new tank. Sorry about the confusion; I never claimed that I did not have idiotic tendencies!

 

[Zapins]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Probably the wrong place to ask, but does anyone want to sell me some of each?

Preferably someone with both plants to save on shipping??

 

[DonaldmBoyer]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

I wish I could, Zapins! It is too cold right now to ship; also, I ONLY HAVE SAO PAULO!

Cavan--You should just send the Kawagoneum to me; Tex will end up making the Sao Paulo and Kawagoneum look the same! HA!

 

[Zapins]

Re: Polygonum 'Sao Paulo' VS 'Kawagoneum'

Hehe. Its ok to ship in this weather. I've gotten 4 plant packages recently and they were ok.