# Limnophila Aromatica transition to submersed



## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

I couldn't find Limnophila Aromatica in it's submersed for but was able to find it at a LFS in the emersed form.

Does anyone know if this plant will transition well or does it take a long time?

Will the emersed leaves melt and drop off, then new submersed growth will form at the top?

Will I then need to replant the tops and discard the bottom portion?

Thanks,
iso


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

isonychia said:


> I couldn't find Limnophila Aromatica in it's submersed for but was able to find it at a LFS in the emersed form.
> 
> Does anyone know if this plant will transition well or does it take a long time?
> 
> ...




Two months ago I went through same issue.
Lost no stems or leaves, replanted bottoms and got many more stems.
Bottom growth did not really suffer from transition.


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## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

Maryland Guppy, when you say you didn't lose any leaves, what happened to the emersed form of the leaves?

Also, didn't the emersed leaves drop off or melt?

What do you mean you replanted the bottoms?

The plants I purchased are stems and I assume I will replant the entire stems, then wait for it to transition. How that will occur I am not sure.

Do the emersed leaves simply morph into submersed and stay intact, then the new growth sprouts as submersed growth?

iso


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Had no change at all.
First trim I replanted tops.
All bottoms started new growth immediately.
New growth was not quite as stout but not really noticeable.


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## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

Did your plant look like this when you got it in the emersed form?
This is what I have.
(single plant photo)

Does it still look like that?

It seems it has a long way to go to transition to this.
(grouped plant photo)

iso


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## Tihsho (Oct 10, 2007)

@isonychia, I could be wrong but that stem you posted looks a lot like the emersed growth of Proserpinaca Palustris.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Tihsho said:


> @*isonychia*, I could be wrong but that stem you posted looks a lot like the emersed growth of Proserpinaca Palustris.


Yep, aka Mermaid weed, very cool plant.


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## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

Well, I guess we will find out once it has been planted. 

I cant return the plants and claim I know more than the owner. The shop does have mermaid weed, but it does not look like the plant I purchased. It looks like the regular submersed form. So I don't know why the shop would buy emersed mermaid weed when they have it in the submersed form throughout their tanks. I did some more searches and saw rice paddy herb and the leaves look very similar. The only variations I see is some are all green and some have that purple colored stem. (like my photo)










I could not find a photo of submersed mermaid weed. Most mermaid weed I saw have leaves that are VERY jagged.

Maybe other members have some photos or experience with the emersed L Aromatica.


iso


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## Mumford (Nov 12, 2012)

Of course you can return it? You bought X, you found out it's Y.

Don't claim to "know more" than the owner. Just say you believe there might be a mistake and you'd like something different. 

He probably doesn't know everything and most likely there was a simple labeling error.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Think I was mistaken upon closer look, Mermaid weed should have alternating leaves, the stem you posted is adjacent. Probably L aromatica


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## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

I have been doing more searching and I'm still unsure. I keep seeing different photos some look like my plant and others do not. Some have 3 leaves some have 2.

Here is a link i found of a plant that is marked as L Aromatica, but who knows if the source is correct. Looks exactly like my plant. You can see how thick the stems are.










I planted it this morning, and if it does transition into the submersed form it has a long way to go.
The stems are VERY thick. My guess, 3/16". I planted 2 bunches (bought 3) in the BACK left corner of the tank and it takes up a lot of space. Looks rather large and bulky in my 17 gallon.

Without the submersed form in hand I cant tell, but all the photos i have seen of the submersed form don't show the stems as thick and bulky as what i have. Maybe they are and I just cant tell from the photos.

This is the one thing about this hobby that's frustrating. It's impossible to find plants and when I do I'm not sure what I am going to get, the condition of the plant or even if it's going to be the correct plant.

I always try and stay away from the emersed forms for this reason, but I got desperate...LOL.

So now I just wait and see what happens. If it does not transition into the correct plant, then who knows what it will transition into. I'm not very optimistic... 

Good news is my S Repens and Blyxa Japonica should be coming Friday. So once they arrive I can finish planting everything and get the CO2 running. 

My goal is to pack in as many plants as I can all at once so I have a good mass of plants to start with. If I can avoid algae and get good growth I can then try and adjust the layout to be more visually appealing.

I have come to realize, it's difficult to come up with a good layout when you are speculating on the end result both in terms of what plants will do well, how they will look once grown in and working with plants you are not familiar with aside from pics on the net. I guess thats the challenge and learning curve.

iso



Iso


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

That plant is L. aromatica emersed, definately not P. palustris (mermaid weed) which has alternating leaf petioles. It transitions easily, and is generally an easy plant, so no worries. And it does have a thick stem when grown large in the tank under rich conditions. This is another emersed one with flower. There is quite a bit of variability in the species both in the emerged form and submerged form


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## isonychia (Nov 19, 2013)

Xiaozhuang, so even though the emersed form I have and the emersed form you have are different, they are the same plant?

I ask because there is a lot of talk of leaf patterns. Your emersed leaf pattern is similar to mine in that they are the same node pattern, but your emersed form has 4 leafs per node and mine only has 2.

Here is a pic of the plants in the tank.


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## miataisalwaystheanswer (Jun 12, 2015)

I have Limnophila Aromatica in my tank and a few stems growing emersed. The emersed growth right now is about only an inch but it does not resemble what you have.


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## Xiaozhuang (Feb 15, 2012)

isonychia said:


> Xiaozhuang, so even though the emersed form I have and the emersed form you have are different, they are the same plant?
> 
> I ask because there is a lot of talk of leaf patterns. Your emersed leaf pattern is similar to mine in that they are the same node pattern, but your emersed form has 4 leafs per node and mine only has 2.
> 
> Here is a pic of the plants in the tank.


There is quite a bit of variability, both in terms of coloration and number of leaves per node (2-4). For confirmation, you probably need either a flower, or wait for the underwater form....


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