Ricefield waternymph (Najas graminea) is a small annual aquatic plant that grows submerged in still or slow-moving fresh water such as ponds and rice fields, reaching up to about 30 cm. It is also sold in the aquarium trade, and it does best kept fully underwater in good light.
Family
Hydrocharitaceae (Hydrocharit family)
Grows as
Aquatic, Annual
Light
Bright indirect
Water
Grows fully submerged in water; keep the plant covered at all times.
Soil
Grows rooted in mud or sand, or floats loose in aquarium water.
Temperature
18–28 °C; protect from freezing.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Africa to New Caledonia
Climate
subtropical
About
Najas graminea, also known as ricefield water-nymph is a species of aquatic plant found in freshwater habitats, especially still or slow-moving waters, like ponds and rice fields. It grows to a maximum length of 30 cm. The flowers are monoecious. The flowering season is from July to September.
The natural distribution of this annual plant covers most of Africa as well as the Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and northern Australia. It has become naturalized in Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Crimea and California. This plant is also commercialized in the aquarium trade.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Najas graminea 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.