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Nymphoides aquatica
Also called Banana Plant
Big floatingheart is an aquatic plant with rounded floating leaves and banana-shaped storage roots, grown in ponds and aquariums. Keep it in bright light and warm water, and replace stock every 4 or 5 years.
Nymphoides aquatica is an aquatic plant in the Menyanthaceae, native to the southeastern United States from Texas to Maryland. It is known variously as the banana plant, banana lily, banana floatingheart, and the big floatingheart. It is most commonly called the banana plant because of its banana-shaped roots. These unusual roots store nutrients.
It is unusual in that it can be grown rooted or as a floating plant. It prefers a bright light and a tropical temperature range.
It can be propagated from the runners that arise naturally or by dividing the rootstock. Although a perennial it is best replaced by new stock every 4 or 5 years. The rootstock should not be entirely buried in the substrate when planting. In the winter and in more shaded conditions, it forms submersed rather than floating leaves.
Nymphoides balakrishnanii · Wavy Marshwort · Entire Marshwort · Crested Floating Heart · Water snowflake · Nymphoides montana · Fringed Water-lily · Nymphoides spinulosperma
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nymphoides aquatica 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.
