Cryptocoryne thwaitesii
Schott (1857)
Family: Araceae. Synonyms: None.
Etymology: Cryptocoryne: see C. affinis\ thwaitesii: after G.H.K. Thwaites (1812— 1882).
Distribution: Southwestern Sri Lanka. Description: Marsh plant, emersed 5-10 cm, submersed up to 20 cm tall. Emersed blade 1-5 cmpetiolate, ovoid, 3.5-12 x 1.5-4.5 cm in size, crispate margin, rough upperside, olive green to brownish, underside paler. Submersed up to 15 cm petiolate, lanceolate, 5-8 x 2-3 cm in size, entire to slightly toothed, flat upperside, bronze-colored, red-brown underside. Apex acute to obtuse; round or slightly cordate base.
Spathe 6-12 cm long. Tube 2-4 cm long; kettle and tube red-spotted on the inside. Limb 3.5-7 cm long, caudate, erect or curved to the front, smooth inside, pure white or more or less red-spotted. No collar. Female flowers 4-6. Male flowers 20-30. Number of chromosomes 2n = 36. Culture: Cryptocoryne thwaitesii was occasionally imported in the late 1950s. It has, however, become very rare since then. Successful submersed cultivation was occasionally reported, but the cultivation of this decorative species in an aquarium is problematic. Soft water, a nutrient-rich substrate as well as a not too bright location are the prerequisites for satisfactory growth. Emersed cultivation, in contrast, is achieved without significant problems in conditions of high humidity within a shaded location. A mixture of sand, loam, gravel and soil may be used as a substrate.
Ecology: Cryptocoryne thwaitesii populates small flowing waters. The author located solitary submersed communities with magnificent, bronze-colored leaves in shallow water in a sunny-shady stream in the Kottawa forest (Sri Lanka). Individual emersed specimens grew alongside the edges of the stream in a moist substrate and heavily shaded. The water analysis of this location (1/1985): temperature 24 °C, pH 6.92, GH/KH < l°dH, 43 (xS/cm, rH 263 mV. Also compare the substrate analysis of this location (Jacobsen 1984) as well as a water analysis (Horst 1986).
Submersed populations of C. thwaitesii in a stream in Kottawa forest (Sri Lanka).
Native habitat of Cryptocoryne thwaitesii in Kottawa forest (Sri Lanka).
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