Aquarium plant
Alternanthera sessilis
Alternanthera sessilis (L.) DC.
Alternanthera sessilis is a widespread tropical and subtropical wetland plant that is often sold incorrectly for permanent aquarium use, especially in a dark red ornamental form. Unlike true submerged Alternanthera aquarium plants such as A. reineckii, A. sessilis does not…
Save this plant or add it directly to one of your aquariums.
Plant overview
Alternanthera sessilis is not recorded as suitable for permanent submerged aquarium growth.
Planting & care
- GrowthStem plant
Growth & placement
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Propagation
- Cuttings
- Color
- green, red
Taxonomy
- Major group
- Angiosperms
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Genus
- Alternanthera
- Botanical name
- Alternanthera sessilis (L.) DC.
About this plant
Alternanthera sessilis is a widespread tropical and subtropical wetland plant that is often sold incorrectly for permanent aquarium use, especially in a dark red ornamental form. Unlike true submerged Alternanthera aquarium plants such as A. reineckii, A. sessilis does not maintain an attractive or stable underwater habit. Prolonged submersion typically produces elongated internodes, small leaves and numerous adventitious roots before the plant weakens. It should therefore be used emersed in a paludarium, riparium, terrarium or consistently moist planting rather than as an aquarium midground or background stem. Emersed cultivation is straightforward, and healthy shoots can be propagated from cuttings. The former alias field has been corrected from one concatenated string into separate names. Aquarium temperature, pH, hardness, CO2, nutrient and placement values are intentionally removed because they would misrepresent a plant that is not suitable for long-term fully submerged culture.
