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Upright burhead

Echinodorus berteroi

Also called Upright Burrhead, Cellophane Sword, Erect Burhead, Tall Bur Head

Upright burhead
Photo: Anthony Valois and the National Park Service, Public domain

Upright burhead is an aquatic sword plant of the Alismataceae family, native to the southern and central United States, Central America, the West Indies and South America. It is grown mainly as a submerged or emersed aquarium and pond plant, and it needs a large tank with rich substrate and good light.

Family
Alismataceae (Alismat family)
Grows as
Aquatic
Light
Bright indirect
Water
Grow it submerged in aquarium or pond water, or emersed in shallow warm water.
Soil
Deep, rich substrate or aquarium gravel and sand.
Temperature
Sub-tropical to tropical; protect from frost, below 10 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
C. U.S.A. to S. America
Climate
subtropical

About

Echinodorus berteroi (upright burhead or cellophane sword) is an aquatic plant species in the Alismataceae It is native to the southern and central parts of the United States, as well as Central America, the West Indies, and South America as far south as Argentina.

How to grow it

Prefers a larger tank with a deep, rich substrate and good light. It is easy to grow but will soon outgrow the average aquarium. Can be divided, or in submerse plants, adventitious plantlets will form on the inflorescence and can be divided and planted out. Seed will be set in emerse plants, and can be planted out in shallow trays with sand and shallow warm water. Prefers soft, rather acid water. Sub-tropical to tropical temperatures. It doesn't seem to thrive in hard water. Will grow in and by the pond in warmer regions, but must be protected from frost.

Other Echinodorus plants

Burhead

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Echinodorus berteroi by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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