Marsilia looks great as a decoration for the foreground of an artificial reservoir. This is a wonderful aquarium plant with dense green leaves that are similar to the leaves of an ordinary clover. Therefore, it is often called water clover. In order for such a beautiful plant to take root well in a new habitat, some planting and care rules should be followed.
In the article we will take a closer look at Marsilia four-leafed and Marsilia hirsuta.
Types of Marsilia
According to the place and conditions of growth, Marsiliaceae are divided into two types:
- Emersnaya (surface), having long and thin petioles, reminiscent of the leaves of Russian oxalis. They have four-lobed leaves.
- Submersnaya (aquatic), having leaves of various shapes and with a different number of petals. It depends on the conditions of water supply and lighting.
The most common in the aquarium hobbyspecies of aquatic ferns are as follows:
- Marsilea quadrifolia - four leaf marsilia;
- Marsilea crenata - crenate marsilia;
- Marsilea hirsuta - marsilia hirsuta or marsilia rough-haired.
They are all from different geographical regions.
General information
Marsilia (or Marsilea) belongs to the genus of ferns from the Marsiliaceae family. In total, it includes 30 varieties of aquatic ferns, called "water clover" or "four-leaf clover" due to their resemblance to the plant familiar to us.
Marsilia quatrefoil is the most popular and readily available aquarium plant belonging to the class Ferns of the order Ferns (Salviniaceae family). This is a small perennial herbaceous plant, the rhizome of which has a thin and branching structure. It can spread above the ground surface, and sink a little into the damp ground.
In Marsilia, growing in the temperate zone, only the rhizome submerged in the ground survives in winter, and the leaves die. And in the tropics, these ferns remain evergreen all year round.
Growing places
Marsilia four-leaf fern in natural conditions is widely distributed in the subtropical zones of Europe, Africa and Asia. Many of the varieties are common in North America, Madagascar and the Comoros. Culture prefers various water channels, shallow waters along the banks of rivers andrice fields.
In those places where the soil is slightly flooded with water, fern plantations form a dense and extensive carpet. In the case of a rather deep body of water, where the water is stagnant, small islands of marsilia can float on the water surface.
Marsilia quadrifolia
The plant has a branched and creeping rhizome, thanks to which the bush is well fixed in the ground.
The stems grow up to 15 centimeters, and for the formation of a "carpet", the shoots must be cut. This crop has tough dark green glossy leaves divided into four parts, which is why it received its name - "four-leaf clover".
The rhizome of the four-leaved type of plant has a light brown or greenish tint. Quite densely it is covered with brown hairs. The thickness of the root system is up to 0.8 mm. Petioles depart from it with leaves of a dark green color divided into 4 parts. Marsilia quatrefoil is an excellent aquarium plant, great for growing in the foreground of a home pond. It is quite popular among amateur aquarists.
Marsilia was first described in 1825.
It is distributed almost throughout the African continent, in tropical Asia, Madagascar and the Comoros. From natural habitats, the plant was brought to North America, where today it grows almost everywhere.
Marsilia hirsuta
In nature, Marsilia hirsuta "lives" inreservoirs of Australia. It grows, like Marsilia four-leafed, relatively slowly, does not require special care and is suitable for aquariums.
Marsilea hirsuta is a very attractive variety of ferns. And it has leaves like clover leaves. It should be noted that almost all plants of this family are very similar to each other. Marsilia hirsuta is easily confused with Marsilia dramonda or quadrofolia.
To the touch, soft leaves are triangular-wedge-shaped. Depending on the lighting and conditions of detention, the shape of the leaves and the number of petals may change. There can be from 1 to 4, and they are located at different heights from each other.
In growing conditions in aquariums, plants can reach a height of up to 10 cm, a width of up to 20 cm.
Marsilia in the aquarium
You can grow four-leaved marsilia (its photo is posted in the article) and other varieties of the genus in aquariums of various sizes. Usually this plant sits in the foreground of the container. Warm water (18-22 ° C) is suitable for its cultivation. It has been noticed that Marsilia develops better and faster in a tropical reservoir.
The water in the aquarium should be slightly acidic or neutral: medium hardness and slightly alkaline reaction negatively affect the growth of this plant. It should be noted that regular water changes do not have any significant effect on its growth.
Marsilia is not particularly demanding in terms of lighting. Distracted is suitable for her,mostly moderate light. The plant, as practice has shown, is quite resistant to prolonged shading. When the aquarium is located near a window, Marsilia should be planted closer to the wall facing sunlight. In the case of hydrophyte growth in a tall aquarium, it is necessary to create side lighting for it. The light duration of the day should be at least 10 hours.
