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Crystalwort

Riccia fluitans

Also called Floating crystalwort, Slender riccia

Crystalwort
Photo: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5

Riccia fluitans is a small aquatic liverwort (not a true flowering plant) that floats or grows attached to submerged objects, forming bright green mats. It is grown in aquariums and ponds, and needs strong light to thrive.

Family
Ricciaceae (Ricci family)
Grows as
Aquatic, Bulb
Light
Full sun
Water
Grows submerged or floating in water; no watering needed in the usual sense.
Temperature
Cool to warm water, roughly 10 to 25 °C; tolerates a range of conditions.
How easy
Easy

About

Riccia fluitans, the floating crystalwort, is an aquatic floating plant of the liverwort 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.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Riccia fluitans 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.

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