''Aponogeton crispus'' is an aquatic plant species.

Common names

Ruffled/Crinkled or Wavy-edged Aponogeton; Kekatiya in Sri Lanka.

Origin

Native to southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, where it usually occurs in seasonal ponds, becoming dormant in the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

,Tropica
''Aponogeton crispus''
/ref> ''Aponogeton crispus'' is found naturally in both still and running waters.

Description

It is a seasonally submerged

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 ...

with a round

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 ...

2–3 cm and up to 5 cm in diameter.Christel Kasselmann, ''Aquarium Plants'', 2003, ''s.v.'' "Aponogeton crispus". The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are light green to olive green-brown, 8 – 14 inches (20–35 cm) long and 2.5 inches (6 cm) broad, with a wavy margin and a petiole up to 18 inches (45 cm) long; wild plants tend to have longer and narrower

than the cultivated varieties. No floating leaves are formed. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced on an erect stem up to 80 cm tall with an apical white (- pink) spike-like

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

up to 18 cm long; each

is small, with a 2 mm perianth and six

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

. The

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

are scented, and a flowering spike will last 1 – 2 weeks. The

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s are elliptical, 5–6 mm long and 2 mm diameter. Many plants sold in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade are actually hybrids and many are

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

. The genuine plant never has

that float on the surface of the water. It is a protected plant in Sri Lanka, where ''A. crispus'' is banned from exportation under Section 24 (1) of Forest Ordinance.

Cultivation and uses

''Aponogeton crispus'' is often cultivated as an

plant and is probably the easiest and most robust of the

aponogeton The Aponogetonaceae (the Cape-pondweed family or aponogeton family) are a family of flowering plants in the order Alismatales. In recent decades the family has had universal recognition by taxonomists. The APG system (1998) and APG II system (20 ...

s. It requires a mineral-rich substrate where carbon dioxide is easily available in the form of carbonic acid.Kasselmann 2003. It prefers moderate to bright lighting from above, and will tolerate a wide temperature range, c. 15 – 32C. It does better planted in an established

because of its liking for a nutrient rich environment. When these conditions are met a mass of

will be formed and flowering will often occur. It doesn't normally need a dormant period under

conditions but will sometimes lose its larger

and can be rested in cooler water for about two months; hence it is often grown in removable pots. ''A. crispus'' is one of the aponogetons that eventually require a dry storage during a dormancy, of which the onset is recognized by the gradual ripening off and loss of leaves.

Propagation Propagation can refer to: *Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism *Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials *Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda *Reproduction, and other forms ...

is by

or by carefully splitting the

. The

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

have two prolongations which in horizontal position get curved and stuck into marshy ground forming the initial

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

can be

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

with a soft brush and the resulting seeds sown in a propagater at normal room temperatures. They take several weeks to

germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

. When both

and

s can be seen they can be potted in a peat-based

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

and covered with water.

References

External links

Tropica

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1786857

crispus Flavius Julius Crispus (; 300 – 326) was the eldest son of the Roman emperor Constantine I, as well as his junior colleague ( ''caesar'') from March 317 until his execution by his father in 326. The grandson of the ''augustus'' Constantius I ...

Freshwater plants Flora of the Indian subcontinent Plants described in 1781