Hygrophila pinnatifida: the fern-leaved epiphyte stem
Family Acanthaceae · India
Serrated, fern-like leaves in bronze and red — plant it or attach it to wood.
Where it comes from
Hygrophila pinnatifida comes from India, growing along streams where it can root in the bank or cling to rock and submerged wood. That dual habit — rooting or attaching — is exactly what makes it so useful in an aquascape.
What to expect
Its leaves are deeply serrated and fern-like, a olive-green to coppery bronze on top with a striking red-purple underside in good light. The low, spreading growth and unusual leaf shape give a tank real texture, quite unlike its plain cousin Hygrophila polysperma.
How to keep it
It grows without CO2 but rewards it, and it wants decent light and iron to develop the bronze-and-red colour rather than staying green. Uniquely for a Hygrophila, it can be attached to hardscape like an epiphyte — its roots grip wood and rock — or planted normally in a rich substrate.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Lighting | Medium to high — brings out bronze and red |
| CO2 | Not required; beneficial |
| Temperature | 22–28 °C |
| pH | 6.0–7.5 |
| Hardness | Soft to moderate |
| Fertiliser | Iron and rich dosing deepen colour |
| Substrate | Nutrient-rich, or attach to wood |
| Growth rate | Moderate |
| Placement | Midground, Background, Attachment |
| Difficulty | Medium |
Where it works and how to spread it
Glue or wedge a cutting onto wood to grow it as a spreading epiphyte, or plant it in the midground. It spreads by side shoots and readily grows roots from the stem, so propagation is simply cutting and re-attaching or replanting. Trimming keeps it low and bushy.
What goes wrong
Staying flat green rather than bronze usually means too little light or iron. It can also grow tall and leggy reaching for light — trim it back to force compact growth. Like other new plants it may drop its first leaves as it settles; see plant melt.
More plants in this series
- Hygrophila polysperma — the plain, ultra-easy cousin
- Bucephalandra — the other wood-attaching accent plant
- Alternanthera reineckii — the broad-leaved red plant
- African water fern (Bolbitis heudelotii) — the lacy epiphyte fern
- Hygrophila corymbosa — the big-leaved temple plant