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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Echinodorus cordifolius - Spade Sword Leaf



Scientific name: Echinodorus cordifolius
Synonyms: E. radicans, Alisma cordifolia

Common name: Spade Sword Leaf, Creeping Burhead

Family: Alismataceae (water-plantains family)
Origin: Tropical America
Category: A free-flowering aquatic plant
Photo Taken at: My home garden

Notes:
  1. Leaves are heart shaped
  2. The flowers are 3 petaled
  3. The inflorescence is long and arched
  4. Grow in full sun
  5. Propagate by division of rhizomes and by plantlets that arise on the inflorescences
Additional notes on plant name:
I have arrived at the name of my plant as Echinodorus cordifolius based on my reference to Pg 58 of Tropical Horticulture and Gardening by Dr. Francis SP Ng, Clearwater Publications 2006 Edition. The leaf base are heart-shaped while the inflorescences are long and arched.

SJH Nursery in Johor and Wellgrow Horti-Trading in Selangor classify a very similar plant as E. palaefolius (Mexican Sword Plant). For E. palaefolius, the leaves are large and round while inflorescences large and branched.

3 comments:

  1. So it is how it is called. I've always seen this plant here too, and also in a park in Jakarta. Do you know what is it's country of origin?

    ReplyDelete
  2. According to Wikipedia, it is found in the wetlands in Mexico, North America and the northern states of South America. In the USA it occurs in the southeastern states to Virginia, Illinois and Texas.

    This plant is very similar in appearance to Echinodorus palaefolia but their leaves are bigger.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Andrea, this is a popular plant in Malaysia for water gardens.

    ReplyDelete

Yay! You like flowers too.

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