''Echinodorus bracteatus'' is a species of plants in the Alismataceae. It is native to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, Nicaragua, Panama,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and Ecuador.

Description

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 ...

20 – 80 cm long, long-petioled, blades cordate, at base lobate, at tip obtuse or shortly acuminate, 2/3 as broad as long, mostly about 30 cm, but sometimes more than 50 cm long. Pellucid markings in shape of points or short ovals, or absent. Stem erect, 70 - 150 – 190 cm long, winged. Inflorescence paniculate, having usually 12 - 17 whorls. Bracts distinctly longer than the flowers, connate, 1.5 – 2 cm, exceptionally 6 cm long x 0.5 - 0.8 cm wide, having 25 - 30 ribs. Flowers sessile or nearly so, having the pedicels only 1 – 2 mm long.

Corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

white, usually 2.5 cm in diameter, stamens 20 - 24,

anthers 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 filam ...

as long or broadly shorter as the filaments. Achenes claviform, short-beaked, with 4 - 5 facial ribs and usually 1 facial gland. Glands rarely 2 or absent.

Cultivation

One of the larger Amazon swords. Can grow too large for the average

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 ...

. Needs a large space, deep, rich substrate and plenty of light. According to reports, it flowers in the summer but doesn't set seed.

References

External links

in German but good photographs

herbarium specimen Guadeloupe
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5332476 bracteatus Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Nicaragua Flora of Panama Flora of Colombia Flora of Ecuador Freshwater plants Plants described in 1881