''Ceratophyllum submersum'', commonly known as the soft hornwort or tropical hornwort, is a species of ''

Ceratophyllum ''Ceratophyllum'' is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants including four accepted living species in 2016, commonly found in ponds, marshes, and quiet streams in tropical and in temperate regions. It is the only extant genus in the family Ce ...

''. It is a submerged, free-floating

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 ...

. It has been reported from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, scattered places in tropical

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. It is similar to the submerged macrophyte ''

Ceratophyllum demersum ''Ceratophyllum demersum'', commonly known as hornwort, rigid hornwort, coontail, or coon's tail, is a species of ''Ceratophyllum''. It is a submerged, free-floating aquatic plant, with a cosmopolitan distribution, native to all continents except ...

'', a congeneric plant that is found in most regions of the world.

Description

The ''C. submersum,'' is a free floating aquatic plant which forks from stem three to four times and ends have 6 to 8 threadlike tips. Compared to the leaves of ''C. demersum'' which fork just one to two times, ends in 3 to 4 tips, as a result the ''C. submersum'' has a more delicate look to it. The temperature tolerance is suggested to be between 4°C to 30°C, the optimal temperature is noted to be 15°C to 30°C. The height of the plant is often 6 in. -12 in. (15-30 cm) or 12 in. -18 in. (30-45 cm).

Habitat

''C. submersum'' prefers to colonize

eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplank ...

waters around agricultural systems. ''C. submersum'' is a self-regulating rapid grower like ''Ceratophyllum demersum.'' It strives in a moderately lit environment. In a strong lighted environment ''C. submersum'' attains an auburn color tint. Carbon dioxide would speed up growth for C. submersum, but it doesn’t require CO_2. Since this aquatic plant has a fast growth it has to be trimmed often, or at least be provided a larger tank or environment to accommodate it for proper function. It is found submerged in freshwater in tropical regions of the world, with the species being introduced in newer areas around the world, such as

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It has been found in the

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

branch of the

Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

of Egypt, where it thrives in either various locations at different times of the year.

Ecology

Its presence in waters have been associated with a decrease in nitrogen forms such NH₄ and NO₃ in water, but an increase in pH, conductivity and

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...

. While ''C. demersum'' has been negatively associated with all

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

classes, ''C. submersum'' was positively associated with them, chlorophyll ''a'' and

Cyanophyceae Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blue ...

. ''C. submersum'' and ''C. demersum'' do not share the same habitat, with the cosmopolitan ''C. demersum'' being more distributed, indicating a similar niches. In some cases, ''C. submersum'' can overtake ''C. demersum'' in one vegetative season in a body of water.

Human uses

''C. submersum'' is often used in aquariums as a way to decrease nitrogen in artificial aquatic systems. However, it is not as common in usage as the ''C. demersum.'' It is propagated by cutting the stem of the plant and placing it in the aquatic system. After the organic matter is converted to soluble inorganic matter the ''C. submersum'' helps to oxygenates waste water.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q148111 submersum Freshwater plants Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Flora of Africa Flora of Florida Flora of the Dominican Republic Plants described in 1763 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus