''Aponogeton capuronii'' (named after

René Paul Raymond Capuron René Paul Raymond Capuron (20 October 1921 – 24 August 1971) was a French botanist. Capuron was responsible for an extensive amount of work on the tree flora of Madagascar. Several tree taxa with the specific epithet of ''capuronii'' honor his ...

) is an

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

found in southeastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Description

''Aponogeton capuronii'' has a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

up to 10 x 2-cm thick. Leaf blade 7–20 cm long petiolate, slightly leathery, 20–40 cm long and 3-4.5(-8) cm wide, flat or highly bullate and undulate, dark olive-green coloring. Apex acute, base round, cuneate or slightly cordate. Peduncle 40-60(-300) cm long, swollen toward the inflorescence. Spathe up to 1.5 cm long, caducous. Inflorescence with 2, seldom 3 up to 14 cm long spikes with omnilateral flowers; 2 white tepals; 6 stamens; 3-4 carpels with 2(-4) ovules each. Fruit about 6x3 mm in size, with a terminal beak. Seeds up to 3.25 x 1.5 mm in size, simple testa (van Bruggen, 1985).

Culture

A decorative ''Aponogeton'', though with limited adaptability to living conditions in the aquarium. It was imported on a few occasions, but successful cultivation was the exception. A specimen featuring bullate leaf blades has been cultivated successfully for more than 20 years by J. Bogner in the Botanical Gardens Munich. The plant is kept in soft, weak acid water in a shaded location. According to this data, ''Aponogeton capuronii'' does not require a specific rest phase.

Ecology

The species grows in rivers with fast-flowing water. In February 1968, Bogner discovered plants in the Mandromondromotra River (Madagascar) in a depth of 20–30 cm. When the author visited this location in December 1986, the river had a water level of nearly 2 m. The plants had hardly any juvenile leaves, which hinted at limited growth activity. ''Water values of this location were as follows:'' temperature 27.3 °C (air 30 °C at 13:30 h), pH 6.0, GH/KH < 1 °dH, Fe2+ = 0.05 mg/1, NOj not detectable. The substrate consisted of sand and gravel mixed with coarse, yellow clay.

Other

Forms specific to some locations and featuring bullate, undulate and flat blades have been identified.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1035199 capuronii Plants described in 1968 Endemic flora of Madagascar Freshwater plants