Barclaya motleyi
Hooker filius (1862)
Family: Nymphaeaceae.
Synonyms: Hydrostemma motleyi (Wall.)
Mabberley.
Etymology: Barclaya: see Aquarium Plants 3" href="/aquarium-plants-3/barclays-longifolia.html">Barclaya longifolia: motleyi: after the discoverer J. Motley (7-1859).
Distribution: Sumatra, Malaysian Peninsula, Borneo (Sarawak).
Description: Aquatic plant. Petiole up to 17 cm long, 1-2 mm thick, pubescent. Leaf blade almost round, rarely lanceolate, base cordate, 5-10 cm long and almost as wide, entire, rough, upperside glabrous, underside pubescent, especially on the veins. Coloring upperside green to reddish, underside light olive green, reddish or rust brown.
Flowers similar to B. longifolia, but with a shorter pedicel, pubescent sepals and fewer stamens.
Culture: The aquarium culture of B. motleyi has so far not succeeded over an extended period. The plants require a very soft, acid water as well as a nutrient-rich, loose substrate with an acid reaction. The author was able to achieve the best cultivation results at a free, bright location where some specimens grew over several months. The newly formed leaves, however, became smaller over time. Young plants develop on long runners. As in B. longifolia, the flowers are cleistogamous. Nothing has so far been reported on propagation by seeds.
Ecology: Apart from numerous trace elements, Horst (1986) registered the following water data in black water streams accommodating B. motleyi: temperature 25.5 °C, pH 4.4/5.2, GH 0.25 °dH, 18 |xS/cm. A substrate analysis also revealed a low pH-reading of 5.8
Other: Apart from Barclaya longifolia and B. motleyi, B. kunstleri (King) Ridley and B. rotundifolia M. Hotta are currently classified as valid species. Hardly anything is known about their cultivation in aquariums. Further reading: Schneider and Williamson (1996).
Barclaya motleyi.
Post a comment