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Heteranthera zosterifolia - Stargrass
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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1020
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Thu July 3, 2008
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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None indicated
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9.0
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Description:
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Common Name: Stargrass
Scientific Name: Heteranthera zosterifolia
Light: Medium to Very High
Co2: Not Essential to growth
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Hailing from South America, Stargrass is a bright green stem plant that has very delicate, long lanceolate leaves that form a shape akin to a star – hence the name “Stargrass.” It grows numerous sideshoots and branches and has a very bushy and dense appearance.
In lower light, the intervals between leaves is greater, the plant is leggier overall, and growth is not as fast. In higher light, especially with adequate Co2 levels and a nutrient rich substrate, the growth becomes rapid, the leaves become wider and longer, and the intervals between leaves is lessoned.
Propagation involves cutting the top off of a stem and replanting it. The old stem will then grow several shoots where it was cut.
This plant is incredibly versatile and maleable. It can be used as a foreground, midground, and even background plant, depending on the level of trimming. Much like H. micranthemoides, this plant is capable of being formed into specific shapes by using a pair of scissors to cut the tops off in order to trim to the desired shape, such as a mound, slope, or level surface. The more the plant is cut in this way, the bushier and more dense the growth. After a few trimmings like this, the bottom sections may produce many floating roots and become leggy or unnattractive, in which case it is simply replaced with the cuttings from the tops of the stems.
Sometimes the plant can grow so dense as to block light from penetrating to its lower leaves, at which point, they will blacken and being to die. In this situation, pruning the plant shorter, or thinning it out, will alleviate the problem.
Stargrass is frequently used as a way of hiding the unattractive bottom portions of taller stem plants by placing it directly in front of the problem area; H. zosterifolia is thick enough to block any eyesores quite well.
In optimal conditions, the growth rate of this plant is rapid. Combine this with its love of sucking macronutrients out of the water and it makes a good candidate for a newly planted aquarium in hopes of squelching algae formation. It is readily available.
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