Echinodorus latifolius ``Xingu``

Also known as Echinodorus latifolius. Medium-sized chain sword, not demanding. It develops runners with many plantlets and is suitable as a lawn in the foreground of larger tanks or as group in the midground of smaller tanks. The submerged leaves are linear, light green, about 1 cm wide and ca. 10-30 cm long.This plant has been known under the name Echinodorus latifolius for many years. It belongs to the group of Helanthium bolivianum (= Echinodorus bolivianus). It is often found in trade under other names, like "Echinodorus magdalenensis", however, those names might also refer to other varieties of Helanthium bolivianum.

As a submersed plant, Helanthium bolivianum "latifolius" is hard to discern from other plants from the group of H. bolivianum. Its leaf rosettes have an overall stiffer apperance than those of e.g. H. bolivianum "quadricostatus" (Echinodorus quadricostatus).
Its emersed form has narrowly lanceolate leaf blades with an acute tip (see picture 3), very much like emersed plants of Helanthium tenellum and H. bolivianum "angustifolius".

 

Synonyms	Echinodorus latifolius (Seub.) Rataj
Complete botanical name	Helánthium boliviánum (Rusby) Lehtonen & Myllys
Family	Alismataceae
Genus	Helanthium
Difficulty	easy
Usage	Midground, Nano tanks, Foreground, group, Foreground, ground cover
Aquascaping	forms a grass-like lawn
Growth	fast
pH value	5 - 7
Temperature tolerance	10 - 30°C
Carbonate hardness	0 - 14°dKH
General hardness	0 - 30°dGH
Propagation	Runners
Can grow emersed?	yes