Description
The Japanese cress, aka Chinese Ivy, originates from streambanks and other wet places in East Asia. Under water it forms long, slender stems with roundish leaves, similar to a Hydrocotyle species. Cardamine lyrata is quite undemanding, except that its optimum temperature is about 18-23℃. Under warmer conditions (maximum: circa 27℃) the plant develops increasingly smaller leaves. With its somewhat wild, vine-like habit the Japanese cress is most recommended for natural setups. In its terrestrial form it is also suited for moist to wet soil in terrariums.
Cardamine lyrata is a bog plant originally distributed in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Far Eastern Russia) where it lives in moist places and on rivulets. It is a great plant for coldwater tanks as well as tropical tanks that are not kept too warm, which makes it a very popular, easy-to-obtain aquarium plant. Japanese cress is a fast-growing creeping stem plant easy in cultivation. Its tendriouls stems carry light green kidney-shaped leaves. Under insufficient light (less than 0.5 watts per litre) the stems grow very thin and the leaves stay significantly smaller. C. lyrata grows well even without the addition of CO2, however, carbon dioxide fertilisation enhances growth. Leaf size seems to be dependent on temperature. Colder water of around 20℃ furthers the formation of larger leaves, whereas temperatures of around 24℃ and over result in tiny leaves.
Source
Flowgrow
Characteristic
Forms long, creeping shoots
Roundish leaves
Also suitable for cold water tanks
Complete Botanical Name
Cardámine lyráta Bunge
Family
Brassicaceae
Genus
Cardamine
Category
Foreground
Difficulty
easy
Growth
fast
Carbon Dioxide
need
pH Value
5-8
Temperature Tolerance
4-27℃
Carbonate Hardness
5-15 dKH
General Hardness
0-30 °dGH
Propagation
Cuttings
Can Grow Emersed?
yes
