NANFA-- Hardy Sword Plants

Jeffrey Fullerton (tcmajorr_at_westol.com)
Thu, 08 Mar 2001 00:23:47 -0500

> Subject: Re: NANFA-- Amazon sword question
>
> Sounds like your sword is having swordlets. :) Just dependson if the
> stalk makes a leaf on the end or flowers. If it's a real Amazon sword it
> should be flowers and then baby swords.
>
Called vegetive apoximois- not uncommon in the plant kingdom - almost
universal among sword plants - the native North American species -
Radican Sword - Echinodorus cordifolius (syn E. radicans) does that for
me and I have several in my pond that descended from a single plant
purchased at a local pet store. Surprisingly the year before last I
forgot to bring it in for the winter and discovered it was hardy here in
W. PA! It dies completely back and revives every spring. Unfortunately I
got busy again this past fall and did not get the chain of plantlets on
the spent flower stalk and ended up loosing them.

In the wild and when planted in a pot of soil in a pond - Radican Sword
becomes a large emergent plant similar to Water Plantains - Plantago sp.
There is another "hardy" species- Echinodorus berteroi that is
interesting in its own way if not as showy as cordifolius. It may be
even hardier ranging as far north as Ohio!

Jeff

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