Echinodorus paniculatus

Echinodorus paniculatus is a bog plant that grows up to around one metre high. It is found in many areas of Central and South America in large numbers. It often inhabits waterbodies strongly influenced by human activities, like e.g. road ditches.
This species is only rarely in cultivation. However, the name E. paniculatus is a household word in aquaristics, as it has been used in trade for many years, namely erroneously for Echinodorus grisebachii "bleherae" (= E. bleheri).
True Echinodorus paniculatus sometimes is sold in trade, but then usually not under its real name, but as "Echinodorus americanus".
Several years ago, a plant was imported into Germany from the farthest east of Bolivia under the name Echinodorus sp. "Pantanal". This plant apparently belongs to E. paniculatus.

The emersed form of E. paniculatus has long, upright, triangular leaf stalks with rather soft tissue, and lanceolate to narrowly oval leaf blades. The inflorescence develops in emersed plants, grows upright, ramifies, and carries rather large flowers. It usually grows to the same height as the leaf rosette.
The submersed form has band-shaped to narrowly lanceolate leaves and rather long leaf stalks.

To be continued...