The Crypts pages~ by Jan D. Bastmeijer

by Jan D. Bastmeijer ~ 2016

Suwidji Wongso & Co.

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

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Cryptocoryne sivadasanii Bogner

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Live plants, collected in 1981 by Sivadasan in Kerala state, India, were first regarded as C. consobrina Schott. Bogner was for many years intrigued by this plant and studied the type material again and found that this plant is a new species: C. sivadasanii. A striking difference is the way of living of both species. While C. consobrina is known (at that time) only from the herbarium with fully developed leaves and inflorescense, C. sivadasanii is a seasonal plant which flowers after the wet season when the waterlevel getting low and the stream is starting to dry out and the leaves are fully withered. Also the limb of the spathe is less rough compared to C. consobrina.

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Cryptocoryne sivadasanii in a stream in Kerala.
coll. Beest 79906
photo te Beest

Leaves can reach up to more than 1 meter. Note that the plants grows deep in the ground (white parts).
coll. Beest 79906
photo te Beest

A stream with an abundant growth of long leafed C. sivadasanii.
coll. Bogner 1846
photo Bogner

A very wealthy grown C. sivadasanii. A typical feature is that broken off roots can develop new plantlets (Jacobsen et al, 1989).
coll. Bogner 1846
photo Bogner

The spathes emerging out of the ground. Note the twisted limb.
coll. Sivadasan
photo Sivadasan

At the start of the dry season, the emersed plants flower, the leaves drying out
coll. Sivadasan
photo Sivadasan

A flowering C. sivadasanii. The inside limb is yellowish with purple warts. The leaves are almost without a leave blade.
coll. Sivadasan
photo Sivadasan

Leaves are very narrow and hardly have an undulated margin.
coll. Bogner 1846
photo Bogner

The narrow leaved C. sivadasanii in an aquarium (the plants in front are C. spiralis).
coll. Bogner 1846, cult. M
photo Möhlmann

View from top of the aquarium. The narrow floating leaves belong to C. sivadasanii.
coll. Bogner 1846, cult. M
photo Möhlmann

Drawing of the type of C. sivadasanii
drawing Sajeez

Distribution of C. sivadasanii in south west India.

C. sivadasanii proved to be a good aquarium plant, despite it is a seasonal plant in nature. It grows well in normal (hard) tapwater.
See also C. consobrina.

Updated July 2014

Literature.

Beest, M. te, 1998. A taxonomic study of the genus Cryptocoryne (Araceae) of South India. Calicut Universtity.
Bogner, J., 2004. Cryptocoryne sivadasanii (Araceae), a new species from India. Willdenowia 34: 195-201.
Jacobsen, N., M.Sivadasan & J.Bogner, 1989. Ungewöhnliche vegetative Vermehrung bei der Gattung Cryptocoryne (Teil 1). Aqua-Planta 3-89 : 83-88.
Jacobsen, N., M.Sivadasan & J.Bogner, 1989. Ungewöhnliche vegetatieve Vermehrung bei der Gattung Cryptocoryne (Teil 2). Aqua-Planta 4-89 : 127-132.
Sivadasan, M., 1985. Cryptocoryne consobrina, eine seltene Art aus Südindien. Aqua-Planta 2-85 : 3-5.