Coastal plain of the southeastern USA: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
Although cultivated for a long time, Physostegia purpurea is little known in the aquarium hobby. The Eastern false dragonhead is a perennial swamp plant from the southeastern USA that is able to grow emersed and submerged. It occurs in open, acid habitats such as wet pine savannas. Under aquarium conditions, it develops an about 10 cm high rosette of elongate stalked leaves. The emersed form develops up to about 1 m tall flowering shoots with opposite leaves. Pretty intensely red-violet flowers appear in spike-like inflorescences. They reveal its relationship to the Obedient plant or Virginia Lions-heart, Physostegia virginiana, likewise native to North America and a popular winter-hardy garden perennial in Europe.
Physostegia purpurea is not very demanding, however CO2 addition and a nutrient-rich substrate are recommendable. It tolerates cold water far below 20 °C; higher temperatures above 25 °C are unfavourable in the long run. The submerged growth is rather slow. Adventitious plantlets appear on detached leaves as well as on flowering shoots of the emersed plant.
With its rather low rosette-like habit, the Eastern False Dragonhead fits well into the foreground to midground of aquariums. It is an appropriate plant for "geographically correct" North America-themed aquariums and is also interesting as emersed plant for paludariums and Wabi-Kusa.
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