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Cryptocoryne ×purpurea Ridley |
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According to the famous H.N. Ridley (1904), a former director of the Botanical Garden
of Singapore, this is the most easy to cultivate Cryptocoryne! Also de Wit
(1964) states that Cryptocoryne ×purpurea is the most common aquarium plant in
both Europe and America. Times have changed. Today there is hardly any Cryptocoryne ×purpurea left in the hobby of growing Crypts.
The plant grows in W. Malaysia, there are still plants around the type locality near Kota
Tingii, but the best known locality today is the Tasek (= lake) Bera in W. Malaysia
(Furtado & Mori 1982; Sim 2002). The plant is regarded as a hybrid between C. griffithii and C.
cordata var. cordata (Jacobsen 1982). In 2002, Jacobsen et al. described
another hybrid from Kalimantan: C. ×borneoensis, which is regarded as a hybrid between C. griffithii (from Kalimantan!) and C. grabowskii.
Click on the picture to get the full image (ca. 50 kB) |
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In 1985, Jacobsen and Bogner visited Tasek Bera,
an enormous swamp area in Pahang. where they found C. ×purpurea.
coll. NJ 85-21
photo Jacobsen |
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Flowering specimen of C. ×purpureafrom Tasek Bera. Note
the more or less yellowish zone just above the tube (the throat). A distinct collar fails.
coll. NJ 85-21
photo Jacobsen
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From the same locality, C. ×purpureawith a more purple
colored throat. The limb of the spathe is freshly opened and not yet fully spread.
coll. Bogner 1722
photo Bogner |
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Cultivated specimen of the 1985 plant from Tasek
Bera. The limb of the spathe is purple to red, rough. The throat is broad and smooth,
often more or less yellowish. The tube isn't fused perfect.
coll. Jacobsen NJ 85-2, cult B 521
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C. ×purpurea growing in the Tasek Bera swamp.
coll. Sim s.n.
photo Sim
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Mixed with Blyxa sp. grows C. ×purpurea abundantly.
coll. Sim s.n.
photo Sim
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A close up of the locality (left picture). Note
the yellowish throat of the limb.
coll. Sim s.n.
photo Sim
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The Tasek Bera swamps in the Pahang state (W.
Malaysia). See the map below.
photo Sim
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A historical photograph of C. ×purpurea, made in 1958! Note
that the plant grows and flowers submersed in an aquarium.
coll. hort., cult. HvB
photo van Bruggen
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Another submersed grown C. ×purpurea. Note the more
brownish leaves and the more reddish throat of the limb. This picture is made also in the
50's.
coll. hort., cult. JV
photo Vlasblom
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When the spathe matures after a couple of days,
the margins of the limb of the spathe fold down. This picture is also from the mid of the
last century.
coll. hort., cult. AB
photo van Blass
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Again an old picture of C. ×purpurea. Note the marmorated
leaves with the pale veins. The limb of the spathe is remarkable dark.
coll. hort., cult.M
photo Möhlmann
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C. ×purpureacultivated on a simple mixture of only gravel and peat litter
with a weekly doses of a diluted fertilizer. Note the dark stripes (marmorated) on the
leaves.
coll. hort., cult. B14
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Mostly C. ×purpureahas a a yellow throat, but the are uniform red plants
('concolor'). Note the irregular, warty structure of the limb and the smooth surface of
the throat. No collar present.
coll. hort., cult. B14
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Again a very old collection of unknown origin of C. ×purpurea,
grown at the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen since 1912. The plants have been placed in
shallow water.
Unknown locality (1671/2) but they originate from the Botanical Garden in Dresden,
and no doubt come from Ridley's original plants that were sent live to Kew.
coll. HBH1671-2, cult. NJ
photo Jacobsen
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There is sometimes a discussion for how
much Cryptocoryne can adapt the length of the tube according to the water level.
This one does well in the botanical.garden of Copenhagen.
coll. HBH1671-2, cult. NJ
photo Jacobsen
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This specimen has quite bright green leaves. In
emersed culture the size of the plant will not be bigger as shown here (pot size 9 cm),
but in submersed culture the leaves may grow much taller.
coll. hort., cult. B700
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Close up of the limb of the spathe. There is no
distinct collar (rim) but the funnel shaped throat may be a bit swollen like in C.
cordata.
coll. hort., cult. B700
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Again a somewhat deviating form, to be regarded
as C. ×purpurea.
The whole limb of the spathe is more or less orange. Note the short tube.
coll. hort., cult. W80
photo van Wijngaarden
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Detail of the same plant as left. Note the fine
reddish spots at the opening of the tube (inside).
coll. hort., cult. W80
photo van Bruggen
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A deviating color of the limb of the spathe of C. ×purpurea. The warty surface of the limb makes
it different from C. cordata.
coll. hort., cult. NJ 3207
photo Jacobsen
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A bronze leafed C. ×purpurea.
In cultivation, plants may react strongly at the environmental factors, such as light.
coll. hort., cult. W49
photo van Wijngaarden
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A dirty yellow limb of the spathe of C. ×purpurea. This one is quite close to C. cordata,
but differs in the structure of the limb.
coll. hort., cult. W49
photo van Wijngaarden
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Close up of the limb of the plant at left. Note
the fine red spots at the transition of the tube to the throat. The limb is hardly warty.
coll. hort., cult. B-W49
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Opened kettle of C. ×purpurea. The most distinguishing characters are the brownish outside
color of the ovaries and the broad stigma's. The length of the naked part of the spadix
mostly is not a good character. Note the yellow valve at the top of the picture.
coll. hort., cult. B700
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Another section of the broadened lower part of
the tube (kettle). Spadix (the 'rod') rather short, the flap is whitish and the stigma's
rounded. The brownish tinge on the top of the female flowers (lower part) seems to
be typical.
coll. NJ85-21, cult. B521
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Typical incised stigma's of C. ×purpurea. This is not always
seen. Note the 'snowflake' like structure of the stigma's, typical for a fresh opened
spathe. After one day the stigma's become translucent (very left picture).
coll. hort., cult. B14
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A longitudinal cut through the female flowers of C. ×purpurea. Lots
of ovules, which could become seeds after pollinating. However, fruits are not known,
indicating a hybrid origin of this species.
coll. hort., cult. B14
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The C. ×borneoensis fom
Kalimantan (Indonesia) is characterized with a rough limb, a distinct collar and has a
deep red color of the limb.
coll. SP2
photo Sasaki
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After having cleared up the identity, de Wit
(1960, 1990) published this splendid drawing of C. ×purpurea
drawing Ike Zewald
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Map of the Tasek Bera swamps. C. ×purpureagrows at several
spots in this area. Also C. cordata var. cordata is found at Tasek Bera
(Sim 2002).
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Distribution of C. ×purpurea in West Malaysia. The upper locality is the Tasek Bera National
Park. The lower locality is Kota Tingii, where the type was collected by Ridley.
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From its very description by Ridley, there has always been a lot of confusion about its
identity. Though Ridley was very aware of that, as was Engler (1920), it was not until
1960 that de Wit (see also de Wit 1990) gave a comprehensive explanation of the
differences between C. griffithii, C. cordata var. cordata and C. ×purpurea. Jacobsen
(1982) regards it as a natural hybrid between C. cordata var. cordata and C. griffithii. Today,
more variation in color of the limb of the spathe is encountered. All these plants are
from undocumented origin. Newly,Yuji Sasaki from Japan collected plants from South
Kalimantan (Indonesia) which are described as C. ×borneoensis (Jacobsen et
al. 2002).
Today, the Wetlands International Malaysia and the Malaysian Nature Society are involved
with the conservation of the Tasek Bera National Park.
Updated January 2003 (removed broken links in July 2014) |
Literature.
- Engler, A., 1920. (Cryptocoryne, Lagenandra in) Das Pflanzenreich IV.23.F. Araceae -
Aroideae : 232-249, Leipzig.
- Furtado, J.I. & S. Mori, 1982. Tasek Bera, The Ecology of a Freshwater Swamp.
Monographiae Biologicae Vol. 47. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague.
- Hoedeman, J.J., 1948. Het geslacht Cryptocoryne Fischer, 1928. Het Aquarium 19(3) : 61-64.
- Hooker, J.D., 1900. Cryptocoryne griffithii. Bot. Mag. vol. 126, plate 7719, 2 p.
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130 : 71-87.
- Jacobsen, N., 1982. Cryptocorynen. Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
- Jacobsen, N., 1986. Deterioration of the habitats of the Cryptocoryne species.
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Aqua-Planta 1-92 : 18-25.
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- Jacobsen, N., J.D. Bastmeijer & Y. Sasaki, 2002. Cryptocoryne ´purpurea Ridley nothovar. borneoensis N. Jacobsen,
Bastmeijer & Y. Sasaki (Araceae), eine neue Hybridvarietat aus Kalimantan. Aqua-Planta
27 : 152-154.
- Jacobsen, N. & J.Bogner, 1986. Die Cryptocorynen der Malaiischen Halbinsel (1.Teil).
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109-111, ill.
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- Ridley, H.N., 1904 (1902). New Malayan Plants. J.Str.Br.Roy.As.Soc 41 : 44-45.
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3-6.
- Ridley, H.N. 1925. Cryptocoryne. Fl. Malay Pen. 5 : 86-88.
- Roe, C.D., 1967. A manual of aquarium plants. Shirley aquatics Ltd.
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- Sim, C.H., 2002. Conservation of the Endemic Aquatic Plant Cryptocoryne purpurea at Tasek
Bera Ramsar Site, Pahang, Malaysia. Wetlands Malaysia.
- Wit, H.C.D.de, 1951. Cryptocoryne cordata, Cryptocoryne griffithii. Het Aquarium 22(6) :
128-129.
- Wit, H.C.D.de, 1958. Cryptocoryne griffithii. Fishkeeping, jan. 1958 : 138.
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- Wit, H.C.D.de, 1990. Aquarienpflanzen, 2. Auflage. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
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