The Crypts pages~ by Jan D. Bastmeijer

by Jan D. Bastmeijer

These pages are on the cultivation and taxonomy of plants of the genus Cryptocoryne (Araceae)

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the nurii group

The nurii group consists today in two var's and a cultivar:
C. nurii var. nurii
C. nurii var. raubensis
C. nurii 'Platinum'

For a long time Cryptocoryne nurii was interpreted as a species from rather wide rivers in peninsular Malaysia, where it grows submerged, with long leaves and a long tube of the spathe. These plants were difficult to cultivate in aquaria. When growing them emerged the leaves became much smaller and the plants (rarely) flowered with a much shorter tube. With the use of a more acid substrate, f..e. leaf litter from the beech tree it became more easy to grow them, but never as big as in the wide rivers.
Typical for C. nurii is the forward bend top of the spathe, making the opening of the tube facing sideward's. The limb is mostly very rough but also more smooth limbs are found.

In the past decades much more collections were made from the islands Bintan, Lingga and Singkep (Riau Archipelago, Sumatera) and even from the mainland Sumatera which are now regarded as C. nurii var. nurii. These plants have short, broad leaves, often bullate and have a very rough limb of the spathe. However, the main characters are the same as these from peninsula Malaysia. One of the Lingga plants got the status of a cultivar: C. nurii 'Platinum'. The close look alike C. scurrilis with a more upright opening of the spathe is still apart.

In the limestone areas in Pahang grows C. nurii var. raubensis, together with C. affinis. This amazing species keeps it's spathe floating on a elongated peduncle. The famous "yellow nurii" is also found again in that area and belongs to the var. raubensis. These plants are easy to grow.

The picture is even more complex, as also a number of hybrids is recognized involving C. nurii as one of the parents, both from peninsula Malaysia as from Sumatera. Some have a 'nickname', others only have a code. See below.

Note that C. nurii var. nurii has two pages, one for the peninsula Malaysia, the other for the broad leaved plants from the Riau (-Archipellago) plants.

Click on the picture to get the full image (ca. 50 kB)

A submersed growing C. nurii var. nurii from peninsula Malaysia
photo Hildebrandt

C. nurii var. nurii from the Riau Archipelago Province of Sumatera: Bintan, Lingga and Singkep, are broad leaved plants
coll. IL-02, cult B 1255

C. nurii 'Platinum' from Lingga island.
coll. IL-19, cult. Kettner
photo Kettner

C. nurii var. raubensis from peninsula Malaysia
coll. JS, cult. B 1405

SE of the Malay peninsula in the states Pahang and Johore and one record from Terengganu.

Sumatera, Jambi province and the islands Bintan, Lingga and Singkep of the Riau (-Archipellago) province (Indonesia).

Only known from the island Lingga, Riau archipellago province, Sumatera.
Chromosome number 2n = 68

Malay peninsula in the state Pahang.

Kown hybrids involving C. nurii

Cryptocoryne ×timahensis is now regarded as an hybrid between C. schulzei and C. nurii var. nurii.
coll. & cult. B807

"Yellow Ring" from Johore is regarded as a hybrid between C. cordata var. cordata and C. nurii var. nurii. See also Reitel 2011
coll. KN005, cult.B1400

Other plants, maybe also to be contributed to C.nurii

C. nurii "Pelan"Said to come from Sumatera.
coll. JP0501, cult.B1123

C. nurii "Pijoan" Said to come from Sumatera.
coll. JP0502, cult. B1124

C. nurii "Rompin" from Pahang, peninsula Malaysia
pollen fertility 100%
coll. JS, cult B1404

C. nurii "MRO-01" from Pahang. a broad, brown leaved plant.
coll. MRO-01, cult. B1285

January 2016

Literature:

Arends, J.C., Bastmeijer, J.D. & Jacobsen, N., 1982, Chromosome numbers and taxonomy in Cryptocoryne (Araceae).II., Nord.J.Bot. 2 : 453-463.
Furtado, C.X., 1935, Araceae Malesicae, Gardens Bull.of the Straits Settlem. 8 : 145-148.
Jacobsen, N., 1982, Cryptocorynen, Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
Jacobsen, N. & J. Bogner, 1987, Die Cryptocorynen der Malaiischen Halbinsel (2.Teil), Aqua-Planta 1-87 : 13-20.
Jacobsen, N., J.D. Bastmeijer, H.B. Ganapathy, K.H.N.A. Mangsor, M. Mansor, A.S. Othman, S.N.A. Rahman, R. Rusly & J. Siow. 2015. A new calcicolous variety of Cryptocoryne nurii Furtado (Araceae) from Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. Malayan Nature Journal 2013, 65(4), 230-239. (Document service)
Kasselmann, C., 1995, Aquarienpflanzen, Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Kettner, C., 2014. Cryptocoryne nurii 'Platinum' - eine wunderschöne neue Pflanze von der Insel Lingga. Aqua Planta 39(3): 93-97 (Document service)
Rataj, K. & Horeman, T.J., 1977, Aquarium Plants, TFH Publ, USA.
Reitel, S., 2011, Cryptocoryne sp. "Yellow Ring", eine Neuheit aus Pahang, Malaysia. Aqua-Planta 36(4): 124-127. (Document service)
Reitel, S., K. Nakamoto & J.D.Bastmeijer, 2012, Die echte Cryptocoryne scurrilis de Wit (Araceae), Aqua-Planta 37(4): 135-142 (Document service).
Roe, C.D., 1967, A manual of aquarium plants, Shirley aquatics Ltd.
Sadilek, V., 1968, Neue Cryptocorynen III : Cryptocoryne nurii Furtado, DATZ 21: 18-20.
Sadilek, V., 1981, Sind die malayischen Cryptocorynen Problempflanzen ?, Aqua-Planta 3-81 : 76-78.
Schulze, J., 1967, Beobachtungen über Wasserpflanzen in einigen südostasiatischen Ländern I-IV, DATZ 20 : 211-215, 248-252, 279-282, 312-314.
Wit, H.C.D. de, 1990, Aquarienpflanzen, 2. Auflage, Ulmer, Stuttgart.