''Riccia fluitans'', the floating crystalwort, is an aquatic floating plant of the

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

genus '' Riccia'' which is popular among aquarists as a retreat for young fry and is used in live-bearing tanks. It can be found floating in ponds, and often forms thick mats on and under the water surface. It normally grows quickly at the surface. When kept about two to three inches below an ordinary fluorescent bulb or in a pond exposed to full sunlight, it will form dense, bright green mats. Any single branch or antler bud can reproduce into a large colony if the plant is kept in proper conditions. It normally floats, but can also be attached to underwater objects such as logs and rocks. It can be attached with plastic mesh. Floating crystalwort is generally not compatible with duckweeds, as they cover the surface of the water quite rapidly, crowding the ''Riccia'' out. It is also easily overtaken by hair

alga Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, suc ...

e. The species

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''fluitans'' is Latin for floating.Archibald William Smith

References

External links

AquaHobby

* Ricciaceae Least concern biota of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plants described in 1753 Aquatic plants {{Bryophyte-stub