2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The beautiful pistia has a number of other names: water rose, velvet rose, water salad and water cabbage. The rosettes of its leaves are very graceful and incredibly attractive. This beauty grows in both hemispheres of our huge planet and in fresh tropical and some subtropical waters. Spectacular pistia is perfect for growing in aquariums and also in warm greenhouses
Getting to know the plant
Pistia is an excellent representative of the Aroid family. It is endowed with numerous floating feathery roots, which serve as an excellent natural filter, and shortened stems.
The spongy leaves of this plant form rosettes floating on the water surface and are endowed with air-filled spaces. All leaves are blunt-wedge-shaped, sessile, slightly narrowed towards the bases and widening at the ends, with rounded front edges. The color of the leaves is usually gray-green, in width they reach 8 - 10 cm, and in length - 15 - 25. The leaves seem to be corrugated, since their almost parallel numerous lateral veins are slightly depressed from above. Meanwhile, these veins protrude in the form of ribs on the lower surfaces of the leaves, incredibly powerful at their bases and less pronounced at their ends. Due to the special structure of the leaves, the pistia is excellently adhered to the water. All leaves are densely covered with grayish short hairs, which act as a kind of water-repellent fabric and protect them from getting wet.
As soon as the diameter of the pistia exceeds ten centimeters, it begins to bloom with small white flowers with a rather pleasant aroma. All flowers are collected in cob inflorescences, located in the very middle of the green carpets of leaves.
Using pistia
In addition to using warm greenhouses in aquariums and reservoirs, pistia is cultivated as feed for pigs in fish ponds. And this plant was introduced into the culture by Chinese pig breeders. Also, the excellent pistia serves as a pretty good fertilizer.
In China, young boiled pistia leaves are readily eaten. The Chinese also use this plant to cure skin diseases. In India, pistia is used to treat dysentery, and in Malaysia, gonorrhea. In addition, the pistia is excellent for washing greasy dishes and for removing various stains from fabrics.
It is impossible not to mention that the pistia is considered a malicious weed, capable of completely covering the surfaces of small reservoirs in the shortest possible time, dooming them to an early disappearance. In addition, it creates favorable conditions for the life of mosquitoes, thereby contributing to their reproduction.
How to grow
For growing pistia, reservoirs well lit by the sun will be most suitable, the depth of which ranges from ten to forty centimeters. The ideal conditions are those under which the roots will have direct contact with the ground at the bottom of the reservoirs.
Pistia is very fond of warmth, therefore, for its full development, it will require a lot of heat, bright lighting and good nutrition. Light will suit both natural and artificial. In addition, the pistia will also need to provide a fairly high air humidity.
Plants are released into the water only after the establishment of warm weather. This can be done already at the beginning of summer, when the water temperature in the reservoirs rises above ten degrees.
Pistia is a rather whimsical plant, one might even say that it is capricious. It can withstand winter temperatures only if it is at least sixteen degrees. Around the end of August, the pistia is transferred from open reservoirs to warm rooms. This beauty tolerates winter pretty well in home aquariums.
Before moving the pistia to a home aquarium from open reservoirs, it should be carefully examined: the leaves should be free of fungal spores, snails, fish parasites and any insects. For this reason, it is best to first place the water rose in a separate aquarium for about a month. Pistia does not require intense lighting in winter, but, nevertheless, its daylight hours should not be less than twelve hours, so that the plant does not wither from lack of light.
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