Sprouting seed caught by the filter intake
My 55 gallon planted tank had been set up for about four months when I planted an Aponogeton crispus bulb near the center of the tank. It had one spindly leaf when I first planted it but within a few weeks it was growing three or four healthy leaves. I then had to leave for four weeks on a business trip. My wife, Victoria, described the plant’s growth of an inflorescence while I was away. The plant sent a stem (peduncle) straight up to the water level and then along the surface of the water in a winding fashion. The peduncle stopped growing in length and formed a spade shaped bud at the end. A random distribution of spiky flowers formed from the bud. The flowering bud remained submerged but just below the surface of the water. The flowers were pale yellow-white. The Baensch atlas (Vol. 2, page 96) denotes that one can use a brush or cotton swab to mechanically transfer pollen among the many small bisexual flowers. Our flowers were pollinated even though we, unintentionally, did nothing to transfer pollen.
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Sprouting seed caught by the filter intake |
After about one or two weeks, the flower formed light pink, conical pods. These pods formed green, banana shaped seeds that were released presumably overnight. The Baensch atlas says that the seeds will float on the surface of the water for one to two days before dropping to the bottom but I never noticed any floating seeds. The entire propagation sequence was unassisted since I hadn’t read the Aponogeton description in the atlas until after the seeds had dropped. I returned home just before the flower started to form the seed pods.
I noticed the seeds sitting on the tank bottom and within a few days they were sending out roots with small leaves following in a week. I intend to try to raise the seedlings in the 55 gallon and a 10 gallon which both have a sandy or fine gravel substrate. The Baensch atlas suggests using the fine gravel substrate and shallow water though the seedlings seem to be doing well in the regular water depth of the tanks. After the last seed was dropped, the inflorescence simply disintegrated.
