cardinal plant

[DarrylR]

Cardinal plant/lobelia cardinalis

I googled both and find garden plants, but people claim it can be immersed version and live in the aquarium?

http://www.usi.edu/science/biology/TwinSwamps/Lobelia_cardinalis.htm
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/lobelia_cardinalis.htm

I'm glad Petsmart finally started putting Terrarium Plant on the plant description stubs. But the Cardinal Plant says " true aquatic foreground".

But if it isn't a aquatic plant, is it poisonous to fish?

 

[Bk718]

i have lobelia cardinalis in my tank, the emerged form is purple and the submerged is green. A very slow grower.

 

[Notophthalmus]

Lobelia cardinalis grows as a marginal or fully terrestrial plant in nature, where it reaches 3-4 ft in height and has beautiful red blossoms; it's common in wooded floodplain areas in my region. But it can survive and grow a little as a submerged or emergent plant.

 

[Bk718]

Heres a few shots of when i got my lobelia cardinalis

Later on it shed its purple leaves and is now fully green

 

[Fishy_Fun]

could it have shed its purple leaves from lack of light?

 

[Bk718]

2.8wpg there, so not sure. From what ive been told is that the plant is purple outside of water. Also out of all the cardinal plants ive seen that were submerged they were all green.

 

[Notophthalmus]

I think they're only purple when they're small.

 

[Bk718]

I think they're only purple when they're small.

nope

Submerged

Emerged

 

[Bk718]

In aquariums the leaves turn a beautiful shade of light-green. It needs intensive light to thrive. Widely used in Dutch aquariums in so-called ''plant streets''. In open aquariums it grows above the water surface, where it forms very beautiful scarlet flowers and the leaves regain their colour.

 

[Notophthalmus]

The wild plants I've seen do not have the purple tinge, or at least not so pronounced, once they're more than a few inches tall. Perhaps the purple-leaved plant is a cultivar.