''Aponogeton madagascariensis'' is commonly known as Madagascar laceleaf, lattice leaf or lace plant. It is an

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

native to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

, popularly sold for use in aquariums. It is endangered in the wild.

Description

It is an aquatic

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

ous

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

with

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

ous

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow h ...

s in diameter. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

are oblong, the leaf blade 15–55 cm long and from 5–16 cm broad, with a total leaf length including the petiole of up to . The leaves spread horizontally beneath the surface of the water, and are little more than a lattice-like skeletal network of veins with no tissue between. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are produced on an erect spike up to long, protruding up to above the water surface. There seem to be several forms of this plant in cultivation, some large, some much smaller.

Cultivation and uses

The tuberous roots are edible. It requires water temperatures of 15-26 °C and pH of 5-7.5, growing best in low light outdoors.Tropica
''Aponogeton madagascariensis''
/ref>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .Aquabase
''Aponogeton madagascariensis'' (in French)
The substrate should be rich in nutrients. It is a speciality in botanical gardens all over the world. It was once in such high demand that it came close to

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed an ...

in its natural habitat in Madagascar.Hiscock, P. (2003). ''Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants''. Interpret Publishing, United States and Canada . ''A. madagascariensis'' is often regarded as a difficult plant to cultivate. This is due to several factors: 1) it needs bright indoor light to thrive; this encourages the growth of algae on the lattice-like leaves; which is difficult to remove; 2) newly imported bulbs grow well in their first year, but often fail in their second year, apparently due to a lack of food storage in the bulbs (cause still unknown); 3) seeds may be produced, but often fail to germinate or thrive. Some enthusiasts recommend strong water movement and a high filtration rate for this plant.

References

External links

''Madagascar Lace Plant''

''Tropica''

'Age of Aquariums - reader's experiences''

''image in the wild''

'' flowering in the wild''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1527808 madagascariensis Aquatic plants Endemic flora of Madagascar Freshwater plants