Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green': grower data, size and origin

What the grower data says

Tropica’s ratings for ‘Green’ are low light, low CO2, medium growth and easy ^[1]. Its height rating of 10–30 cm or more covers a wide span, and the description explains why: the plant’s size depends on the aquarium setup, and when it grows in open space with no competition the leaves “virtually lie on the bottom” ^[1]. Rosettes are given as 8–15 cm wide. The tissue-culture listing adds that it thrives in almost all conditions, even in the shadow of larger plants ^[2].

Tropica’s fertilizer guide ties its difficulty ratings to CO2: plants marked “easy” need no added CO2, although they do better with a little ^[4]. A low-light, low-CO2 rosette that tolerates shade suits tanks without CO2 injection.

Tropica also notes that, like most other Cryptocorynes from Sri Lanka, ‘Green’ grows well in hard water ^[1]. That matters because some aquarium plants are described by their growers as growing best in soft water (Tropica says so of Bolbitis); this one is not.

Placement and planting

Tropica describes a group of ‘Green’ as decorating any tank and growing in the shadow of larger plants ^[2], but neither of its pages names a position. At 10–30 cm tall and up to 15 cm wide ^[1] it is a mid-sized rosette. Because the leaves flatten out in open, bright space and grow taller in shade ^[1], the same plant can look quite different depending on what surrounds it.

As a rooted rosette plant it takes nutrients through its roots. Tropica’s guide recommends its nutrition capsules for large, sturdy plants in the substrate ^[4]; see root tabs and nutrient substrates for what manufacturers state about root feeding.

Cryptocorynes are known among aquarists for losing leaves after being moved or replanted. The grower pages cited here do not describe this; the Cryptocoryne melt guide collects what published sources do say.

Growth and propagation

Tropica rates growth as medium ^[1]. The grower pages for ‘Green’ do not describe a propagation method. Tropica sells several C. wendtii forms side by side, including ‘Green’, ‘Tropica’ and ‘Mi Oya’ ^[3], which differ in leaf color and size; the ‘Green’ profile here covers only the grower data for that form.

Names and taxonomy

Cryptocoryne wendtii de Wit is an accepted species in the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, in the arum family Araceae ^[5]. It was described by de Wit in 1958 ^[5]. WCVP records no synonyms for it and gives its native range as Sri Lanka alone ^{[5, 6]}, which matches Tropica’s description of it as a Sri Lankan crypt. The grower’s origin field reads simply “Asia” ^[1].

‘Green’ is a cultivated form name. The checklist does not list cultivars, so its record covers the species as a whole.