What is this thing growing from my Cryptocoryne spirals?

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PattyCakes81

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Hi, what is this thing growing from my Cryptocoryne spirals plant?
uploadfromtaptalk1400782999111.jpg

Thanks,
Patricia

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axelrod12

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From the pic, no idea. Any chance of a clearer shot?

What are you referring to in the pic. Could it be a runner forming a new crypt? Maybe a deformed leaf? Just guesses.
 

PattyCakes81

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From the pic, no idea. Any chance of a clearer shot?

What are you referring to in the pic. Could it be a runner forming a new crypt? Maybe a deformed leaf? Just guesses.
I mean the bud looking thing:
View attachment 212727
Can't really get a better shot because it's all the way in the back behind the middle driftwood.

I don't think it is a runner because the plant has sent runners all the way to the foreground and that wasn't growing there.

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dougall

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Spathe?
 

Byron Amazonas

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That is a flower spathe. I had to really look at the photo to see it, because initially I thought the dark green oval-shape was attached to the dark green leaf to the left, but now I see the oval thing is actually the top of the whitish "tube" arising from the substrate. Correct Patricia?

If you don't mind a bit of botany, here is an excerpt from plant profiles I wrote a couple years back for another site that may be of interest.

The Cryptocoryne genus was erected by Friedrich Ernst Ludwig von Fischer in 1828. The name derives from the Greek crypto (hidden) andkoryne (club), a reference to the "kettle," the spadix enclosed by the spathe. The genus Cryptocoryne along with the very closely-related genus Lagenandra [these plants are native to India and Sri Lanka] comprise the Cryptocoryneae tribe within the Aroideae subfamily of the Araceae family. The classification of this genus is complicated and not all botanists are in agreement. Usually the flower must be studied to accurately identify a species since leaf forms can vary due to differing aquarium conditions. There are now over 60 species in the genus (Robert Paul Hudson), and several have numerous synonyms which add to the confusion of identification.

Species in the genus Cryptocoryne are either marsh plants or fully aquatic. C. spiralis is a marsh species, meaning that it naturally grows emersed for all or part of the year, but can also be grown submersed. As with other marsh or bog species such as those in Echinodorus and Helanthium from the neotropics, flowering is most usual only when the plant is growing emersed. C. affinis and C. cordata are two that regularly flower submersed, but most do not (according to Kasselmann). However, nurseries generally cultivate these plants in the emersed state because it is faster and less expensive than submersed cultivation. It is likely therefore that this plant of yours Patricia may have been cultivated emersed and the inflorescence was already "on its way," so to speak.

Whether it will fully flower or not, I can't say. Be sure to have your camera ready if it does, as this is not all that common unless you take the trouble to do emersed cultivation.

Byron.
 

PattyCakes81

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That is a flower spathe. I had to really look at the photo to see it, because initially I thought the dark green oval-shape was attached to the dark green leaf to the left, but now I see the oval thing is actually the top of the whitish "tube" arising from the substrate. Correct Patricia?

If you don't mind a bit of botany, here is an excerpt from plant profiles I wrote a couple years back for another site that may be of interest.

The Cryptocoryne genus was erected by Friedrich Ernst Ludwig von Fischer in 1828. The name derives from the Greek crypto (hidden) andkoryne (club), a reference to the "kettle," the spadix enclosed by the spathe. The genus Cryptocoryne along with the very closely-related genus Lagenandra [these plants are native to India and Sri Lanka] comprise the Cryptocoryneae tribe within the Aroideae subfamily of the Araceae family. The classification of this genus is complicated and not all botanists are in agreement. Usually the flower must be studied to accurately identify a species since leaf forms can vary due to differing aquarium conditions. There are now over 60 species in the genus (Robert Paul Hudson), and several have numerous synonyms which add to the confusion of identification.

Species in the genus Cryptocoryne are either marsh plants or fully aquatic. C. spiralis is a marsh species, meaning that it naturally grows emersed for all or part of the year, but can also be grown submersed. As with other marsh or bog species such as those in Echinodorus and Helanthium from the neotropics, flowering is most usual only when the plant is growing emersed. C. affinis and C. cordata are two that regularly flower submersed, but most do not (according to Kasselmann). However, nurseries generally cultivate these plants in the emersed state because it is faster and less expensive than submersed cultivation. It is likely therefore that this plant of yours Patricia may have been cultivated emersed and the inflorescence was already "on its way," so to speak.

Whether it will fully flower or not, I can't say. Be sure to have your camera ready if it does, as this is not all that common unless you take the trouble to do emersed cultivation.

Byron.
Yes, the oval thing is coming from the whitish tube. Thank you for providing us with this helpful information.

When dougall said spathe, I went on Google and found this:
http://crypts.home.xs4all.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/spi/spi.html
Your posting and this link had clearly explained a spathe to us.

Thanks,
Patricia

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PattyCakes81

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The spathe is getting longer:D
uploadfromtaptalk1400882879242.jpg
uploadfromtaptalk1400882898676.jpg
How long does it grow?

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uploadfromtaptalk1400882879242.jpg uploadfromtaptalk1400882898676.jpg
 

Byron Amazonas

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This is a polymorph species, meaning that it has more than one type. Kasselmann gives two in her book, namely Cryptocoryne spiralis var. spiralis and C. spiralis var. cognatoides. The spathe of var. spiralis is from 6.5 to 12 cm long, and that of var. cognatoides is 15-35 cm. long. The flowers obviously open in air when the plant is grown emersed, so that insects can pollinate them. I've no knowledge if they might open under water, or if the spathe will grow to the surface.

Byron.
 

PattyCakes81

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This is a polymorph species, meaning that it has more than one type. Kasselmann gives two in her book, namely Cryptocoryne spiralis var. spiralis and C. spiralis var. cognatoides. The spathe of var. spiralis is from 6.5 to 12 cm long, and that of var. cognatoides is 15-35 cm. long. The flowers obviously open in air when the plant is grown emersed, so that insects can pollinate them. I've no knowledge if they might open under water, or if the spathe will grow to the surface.

Byron.
Great in depth info. I'll keep posting pics has it keeps growing, if it does.



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SnakeIce

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If the plants are happy they will flower underwater, but obviously no fertilization occurs and the flower just rots. It would be unusual for the spathe to be tall enough to grow out of the water.
 
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