Echinodorus Parviflorus ‘tropica’

The crinkled texture of its leaves makes this special cultivar of the E. parviflorus a beautiful example of the few truly dwarf sword plants. Its maximum height is about half that of other E. parviflorus varieties. It grows slowly unless you provide it CO2 and strong light. Without these, it not only grows slowly but tends to remain smaller. The texture of the leaves is sometimes accented darker variations in the green coloring. The Danish botanists Niels Jacobsen and Lauritz Holm-Nielsen named this cultivar for the Tropica nurseries in 1985. A brighter colored and faster-growing alternative is the Echinodorus aquartica. Family: Alismataceae Common Name: Sword Maximum Height: 2 inches to 6 inches Leaf Size: ½ inch to 1 inch by 2 inches to 6 inches long Stem Thickness: 1/5 inch Light: Strong Temperature: 70 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit pH: 5.5 to 8.0 Origin: A ‘Tropica’ cultivar of a South American Echinodorus parviflorus Water Hardness: Soft to Hard Nutrients: Ample Nutrients; CO2 Recommended Relative Growth  Speed: Slow to Moderate