Aquarium plants

Plant profiles built from what growers publish, not from forum consensus. Each page shows the grower's ratings for light, CO2, growth and difficulty, the plant's accepted scientific name and native range from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, and any official noxious-weed or invasive-species listing.

Trade names and botanical names often disagree. Java fern is still sold as Microsorum pteropus, a name the checklist treats as a synonym of Leptochilus pteropus (see the Java fern profile), and the Amazon sword sold asEchinodorus grisebachii 'Bleherae' is listed there as Aquarius grisebachii (see theAmazon sword profile). The profiles keep the grower's name, because that is what is on the label, and show the accepted name beside it.

Where a grower does not publish a value, the profile says so. To compare the 27 profiled plants side by side, use thesortable parameter table.

Plant parameter tableSort the 27 profiled plants by light, CO2, growth rate, height or difficulty.

Rhizome plants and epiphytes

Tied to wood or stone; the rhizome stays out of the substrate.

Rosette plants

Leaves from a central crown; many spread by runners.

Stem plants

Grow upward and are propagated from cuttings.

Carpeting and foreground plants

Low, spreading plants for the front of the tank.

Mosses, liverworts, floating plants and others

No roots in the substrate, or no true roots at all.