# Plant ID help



## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

I tried Googling submersible aq plants that look like bamboo but I keep running into threads about lucky bamboo instead.

Anyway, here are the pics. TIA.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

How big is it? It kind of looks like Parrot Feather in it's emerged form.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Or mermaid weed


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

that is NOT mermaid weed for sure- growth form is wrong from the base.. Mermaid weed does now willingly branch like that so close to the substrate and the leaves ONLY become comblike( to that extent) in extremely high light .. I apologize but can ya' get a pic a little more in focus? I am getting older and my eyes are taking the brunt of it...lol.. maybe place it in a bin with shallow water-- just enough to allow the leaves to lay out as they would if planted but not enough to make the picture taking difficult..
also where did it come from? pet store, friends tank, or maybe even local stream?

I'll go out on a limb for now though and say potentially and emergent Myriophyllum


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

@*lilnaugrim*: Not sure of the max height but it's one of the smaller ones. The bigger ones can grow up to 5-6inches. Possibly more.

@BamaPlants: I'll try but unfortunately I only have the cell phone camera atm. It came from the LFS. They called it lucky bamboo but it was fully submersible. Since I often have problem with official names and local names, I thought I'd just Google it when I got back home. 

It looks a lot more like the Parrot Feather than the Mermaid Weed. Roots are fibrous and tend to sprout from the markings on the segments if that helps any.


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

how stiff is it( flexible) does the stem SEEM fleshy or woody- or maybe even a gradient from top to bottom between the two?


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

ANY FINE hairs growing on it or is it completely glabulous- smooth?

and "fully submersed" in a pet store doesn't mean ANYTHING other than it was submerged as soon as it was unpacked.. lol


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! your last comment pointed me in correct direction.. This appears to be dwarf Horsetail. the leafy small shoots are only in water and new growth and will drop and be more like the segmented portion at the top of main stem. this will NOT live for a long time fully submersed assuming I am correct on ID.. it still COULD be emersed Myrio aquaticum ( Parrotsfeather) ( which is illegal in US so good reason to call it lucky bamboo!) but the segmented upper stem with ashy grey/brown nodal distinctions tends to pull away from that ID.


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

here is some horsetail of another species growing in a closed system with 87-100% rel humidity. it rains on its own almost every day in this system


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Since when was Parrots Feather illegal? It's restricted in a few states but it's not illegal from what I know. I have some of my own and when I first bought it, that's what it looked like (OP's picture). I bought it from PAC: http://shop.plantedaquariumscentral...TICUM-Parrots-Feather-algae-buster_p_211.html


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

It's fleshy. Kind of like the Amazon Swords near the base fleshy.

It's completely smooth.

I'm not in the US area though. I live in the Philippines. I'm not sure of aq plants' legality in our territory but that IS a good reason for the misnomer. 

Oh, it's not a node. I think it's like a leaf bud at the top. I tried planting it some days ago but it's browning a lot so I wanted to ID it to find out what's wrong. 

Why is Parrot Feather illegal in the US if I may ask?


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

Ohio, Md, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, NC, SC, tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, west Virgina, california, Nevada, oregon, washington state,Florida, and the list goes on have it as noxious weed in state.. Dwarf parrotsfeather or red stem parrots feather is not listed YET.. granted not officially a federal noxious weed as yet but it is mainly a beaurocracy hodge podge that is the hold up.. Ancharis too. but you will see that for sale all over the place.. Narrowleaf Anacharis is not yet listed but Most places sell Egeria densa not Egeria najas.


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

parrotsfeather spreads and clogs waterways Easily. it will grow emersed or aquatic and nothing really eats it


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

...Weird. Mine are browning. In case this is parrot feather, should it be fully submerged?

I was advised to plant it in laterite. I have 1in of laterite capped with .5in gravel. I was told to keep pushing the darn stems back into the substrate in case they float or push them down further if the base starts to rot.


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

lets finish this ID and I can better answer your last comment..

take a look at the individual "leaves" on the lower stems.. do they look like the individual leaves on this plant? ( from the washington State DNR website)

see how this plant has very pinnate ( frond like) leaves.


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

Yes, like the second pic.


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

being a green stem then yes --- Myriophyllum aquaticum-- parrots feather.. it grows readily.. but it is in emersed form right now.. there will be some die back as it converts.. it needs light.. IF it is getting soft ( Mushy)then just allow it to float for a few and it should green back up and start to take off for you..


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, that's exactly how mine came as well. I personally like the emersed form better than the submerged form but both are still beautiful IMHO ^_^


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

So is the laterite even helping it at all or would it be better in normal substrate?


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## BamaPlants (Sep 9, 2014)

not helping or hurting at all.. parrots feather will grow in a mud puddle mad e from the rain..lol it is not encouraging extra rooting at all if that is your question.. better to allow it to float and green back up then pull a stem or leaf off near the base and insert that base into the substrate to encourage rooting. OR you could even take something shallow and place some sand mixed with soil in it.. place your stem on it with good connection to soil and add enough water to have 1/4-1/2 inch above the soil.. give it good sun but don't allow it to burn up and it will root and make a ton of stems that could then be removed gently and planted in your tank.


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

Oh, I see... it's kind of the only plant in this tank so I'm a little bit bummed by the extra purchase, but very good to know.

Thank you everyone for all your help! ^_^


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

yay for successful plant IDs!


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## Vergil (Nov 10, 2013)

ao said:


> yay for successful plant IDs!


Thank you as well for helping out!


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