Barclaya longifolia / Hydrostemma sp.

Posted in Plant collection

One of the rare water lilies out there…

I have the privilage to get this plant as a small seedling and for the past 3 years i have had a few hundred of this plant because the plant can reproduce asexually by self fertilizing it’s flower.

Barclaya longifolia is the easiest to care for from the Barclaya family of water lilies. I have tried to grow Barclaya motleyi as well as Barclaya kunstleri and only manage to keep them alive for a limited amount of time as both of them require black water conditions of grow submerge in water.

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Due to the lack of root tabs, the flowers are rather small
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A closed flower, possibly considered a fruit since it is plum, filled with fertilized seeds
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The seeds have small tiny hair like structure which is hard.
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The seeds usually float around for a while before sinking into the water
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The seeds are surrounded and protected by a soft mucus tissue 
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About 1-2 months growth from seed
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Since this plant readily reproduces, it can be easily shared amoung hobbiest interested in keeping it, but sadly it s disappearing in nature due to the upgrading of drains and the clearing of forests.

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