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They're out there...

4K views 41 replies 13 participants last post by  hubbahubbahehe 
#1 ·
I do a lot of hiking locally, and often look into the various streams and ponds. the following is a list of some of the things I have seen and or collected.

Ludwigia [yes, the same as offered in LFS]
Vallisneria or Sagittaria
Pond weed several varieties
Small Pondweed
Dwarf Hairgrass, makes a nice easy to grow plant
Duck Weed impossible not to grow, if you like a floater
Marsilea quadrifolia
Water Hyacinth
Water Lettuce
Riccia
Nitella
Water Moss
Penny wort
Fanwort / cabombqa
Water Sheild/Brasenia
various Lilies
various Milfoil


Any body else do this?
 
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#3 ·
I have collected several plants from local ponds and streams. I have collected several, but only kept a few. I have 5 plants in my tank that were collected locally. I have tried many others, but often they take on a different look, don't work out or wind up not going with the general look. I don't have any problems throwing them out since I can get more later if I change my mind. 8)

As for sterilizing, all I have ever done is just rinse them thoroughly in order to clean the roots and leaves and rid them of any hitchhikers.
 
#4 ·
As to sterilization, there are three methods:

The wait and see method, the KMnO4 method and the Chlorox method. The Krib has a lot of info on the last two. Many times I put the plants in a separate container, and evenetually all the hitchhikers are evident and removable.

I'm surprised at how much stuff is out there and how much is the stuff we go to shops and pay for.
 
#5 ·
I have collected a few varieties myself, some were successful , some were not. Its funny you should mention the Marsilea q. because just 2 days ago I collected some plants from a trout stream by my house that looks a lot like it. I have it floating in my 5 gallon right now and will be planting it tonight in the 75 gallon. It will probably bite me in the butt someday but I am the "wait and see" kinda guy as well...I rarely treat plants before going into the tank. However I inspect them and their roots very closely for eggs and critters before planting too.

I take lots of walks looking for wood and plants, I also found some interesting stone that day but didnt grab it... I think Im going to back for it and give the test to see if its suitable for my tank.
I had 2 pieces of wood that I thought were going to be good for the tank but I had to chuck one of them for rotted center but the other I may be able to save.
In lieu of wood I may do stone now. :wink:

I can see all those varieties you listed being available in Long Island but I aint to sure you found true Riccia there bro, it could be a similar plant but not the real deal.
 
#6 ·
My failures seem to stem from insufficient light of excessive temps. At this time of year I find lots of dragonfly nymphs, which some fish eat, but , otoh some varieties are quite aggressive so caution is the word.

As to the Riccia, no doubt about it.

I even know where to get water chestnuts trapa natans that are north of you!

I just found a plant that I have not been able to ID. pretty though.

Ever had any success w/ fontinalis antipyretica? wacky looking stuff
 
#8 ·
Plantum , may I ask what source you are using for identification? I have been looking for a text for a long while now, sort of a field guide ya know...

Just today my wife and I were heading out on the 'ole saturday afternoon dump run and I took the "scenic" route up the dirt road that I live on and there is a small bridge over a stream about a mile and a half up the road. As fate would have it there was a truck coming the other way so I pulled over to let him pass and while sitting there the wife says.. what a pretty stream with those plants flowing like that !
Of course I had to get out and look and there is a gold mine of some interesting plants there. The one's that caught my eye were rooted patch's of what I could only describe as watersprite , just a bit different though. It was growing very low to the ground, 2 - 3" high at most and appeared to be creeping growth along the bottom. And mixed in with that is a lot more of the Marsilea q., I believe it is, and all this is highlighted amongst waves of very healthy looking grasses... most likely sag's !
On the other side of the bridge it is just masses of a flowing fern on the stones that I have seen before but never this healthy.

What an absolutely beautiful stream !
I am going to take a ride on my quad in the morning up to that stream with some bags , boots and my Digital camera... :wink:

I'll post some photos of my mini-field excursion tomorrow.
 
#9 ·
Well I'll be a ...

That is the stuff.... fontinalis antipyretica, I just googled up a photo of your fontinalis and that is what is covering these stones on the other side of the bridge !
I love that plant, I had tied some on a piece of stone and it started to grow slowly but nicely in my 56G, but it became a victim when I moved to my new house. :evil:
This stuff I saw today was much healthier a plant then I started with before, I may grab some of that too.
 
#10 ·
Buck,

I use several guides, but you may find this one suitable for your purposes. Encyclopedia of Water Plants by Jiri Stodola. TFH press. Remarkably good; broken down into 10 bio types which is a good way to categorize plants imho.

For EXACT id you will need: Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Northeastern North America by Crow and Hellquist $87ea @ Textbookx.com isbn#'s 029916280X 029916330X The books are THE authority, but arranged by taxonomic order, arranged as a dichotomous key, the plates are not oposite the descriptions, and they are b&w line drawings. All in all good if you are sitting in a lab w/ specimens, dreadful in the field. I have another book on order; I will report back upon my evaluation of it .

fwiw, there appears to be 2-3 species of Marsilea, the others having distinctive enough differences to make ID of this one easy|: if it looks like what you expect of M q, then it is.

Sorry to say, but the topic of native Aquatic plants is quite non-existant, unless you are willing to be overshadowe by invasives. Try googling "Native aquatic plants" and 99.7% of what you find is invasives. Sad. Aq plants are only important when they are pests.

OTOH, I find Ludwigia, fontinalis, Sagittaria, Cabomba, myriophilium rtc to be quite nice. As usual, I like things that most folks could give a rats A$$ about :wink:
 
#11 ·
OTOH, I find Ludwigia, fontinalis, Sagittaria, Cabomba, myriophilium rtc to be quite nice. As usual, I like things that most folks could give a rats A$$ about
I think it adds a lot of character to the tank to have locally harvested plants. One of my favorite plants right now is a ludwigia variety I collected from a pond at the golf course... LOL
The stream section I will be photographing tomorrow is going to be a great inspiration for my new tank, I have been thinkin about it all day. :lol:


Thanks for the text info, I will look into that.

Is it morning yet ? Im ready to head for that stream now ! :D
 
#13 ·
What are the laws relating to collecting aquatic plants from the wild? Does it depend on state, region, or are there specific plants out there you shouldn't touch for legal reasons?

I know it's against the law to pick many wild flowers, is it similar with aquatic plants? Just curious :)
 
#14 ·
Gwinna,

Specifically, it would depend on which state you live in, and where you are at the time you wish to "collect" Note that certain "rare" plants are protected, ie there are several so designated in Wisconsin and I believe Washington state. { good duck fodder or fish habitat or rare} In other areas, such as Florida, many aq plants are exotic pests and if not in a NWR, they will probably thank you to take some.

OTOH, many areas do not have laws that address this as it has never been a concern untill wierdos like me, and perhaps Buck* , and you, came along. Be careful in any National park or refuge as the penalties are stiff, and those guys can appear to have ~no~ sense of humor. { I found some antlers along the road in Texas, and later was in Big Bend. the parks police man pulled me over, lights and sirens blaring. I was honest with him, and informed him that they were not from a species found in the park and he relented. but it could have been worse :D }

Local streams and such should be ok. In parks and such look for posts or signs. If you do find a suitable place, be reasonable and prudent, leaving some for the environment and etc.

btw, just found some lovely Starwort {Callitriche palustris}


Buck, {* = Just kidding}

I got the book , Called "through the looking glass... a field guide to aquatic plants" by Susan Boreman. Based around Wisconsin, but applies to much of the country. The line drawings are excellent.
 
#15 ·
WOW Great topic! Anyone in California know of a good place here to find some water plants?? My experience was at local ponds, we gota lot of large marginal plants, none that would fit into a small aquarium. or perhaps i was looking hard enough. I was always worried about all the little bigs that i could bring into my tanks. i once got this bug that had three straight tails in the back....and looked like a water earwig or something. FREAKED ME OUT
 
#16 ·
hubbahubbahehe said:
WOW Great topic! Anyone in California know of a good place here to find some water plants?? My experience was at local ponds, we gota lot of large marginal plants, none that would fit into a small aquarium. or perhaps i was looking hard enough. I was always worried about all the little bigs that i could bring into my tanks. i once got this bug that had three straight tails in the back....and looked like a water earwig or something. FREAKED ME OUT
There have been times where I have gotten down on my hands and knees in 3 inch deep water and just slowly moved things around. Sometimes you really have to look carefully, especially when you are in areas with high vegitation. One plant that I found like that was a Hydrocotyle Verticillata. It is now one of my favorite hand picked plants in my tank.
 
#17 ·
oooOO Hydrocotyle Verticillata is a very nice looking plant. i really like the way it look in the midground.
lucky you dAVE! hehe, i understand didiplis diandra, cabomba, bacopa, ludwigia, are all native plants to north america right? any other plants i missed ?

it just seems weird to buy plants from stores when you could locally pick them up for free! haha.
 
#19 ·
Wow, Buck!

I'm not only impressed with the variety of flora in your area, but also the clarity of your streams! Those streams are beautiful. Most of the streams around here aren't nearly as "well planted" as that. Too much mud.

Man this is making me want to go out for another plant hunting trip.
 
#21 ·
I'm not only impressed with the variety of flora in your area, but also the clarity of your streams!
Dave,
That stream is only a mile up the road from me and there are hundreds of streams like that flowing through our woods. Not all however offer the assortment of plants as this one does. Most are barren, other then some moss here and there.
In this stream the water is crystal clear and the bottom is actually very sandy on both sides of the bridge due to the road. And is it coincidence that these plants stop growing where the sand just about ends ? :?
I walked that stream 100 feet up and down and that was the only place the plants had rooted and grown !

Buck is that VAls, hygro difformis and hydrocotyle sp???
It does look like hydrocotyle, but it is Marsilea q. I believe.

The "h. difformis" looking one has me between species, its too young to tell but I am hoping and thinking that its watersprite (C. thalictroides)

I also found some interesting larger leafed plants but I had no idea what they were so you know of course what I did... I grabbed a couple!
What a root system these things have, I sure hope I put them in a good spot because if they get happy and grow they could pause a problem pulling out later ! :hehe:

Now I just have to wait and see how they all respond in my tank, Im keepin the fingers crossed.
 
#23 ·
Well how do you think those plants got there? 90% of them are not native... thats why water lettuce is now illegal in most every state.

Identifying plants outside is not that easy. There are many look alikes. There are many north American native plants that are considered invasive because they were introduced in areas of the country outside of their native range. Massachuesetts, New Hampshire and other new england states prohibit Cabomba and other plants because they are not native to that region, they come from the southeastern coast. They are sure not native to New York! Same thing with Ludwigia.

Pond weed is the common name for Potamageton, and there are only a couple of north american native species, the rest are all introduced. Riccia, hygrophila, (any specie of hygro including difformis), hydrocotlye are all introduced plants. Most of the pond lillies have been introduced to the wild thanks to backyard ponds. Ceratopteris comes from India.

The USDA has a complete online database of all native species with a map that shows the region of their habitat., although this map does show their extended ranges from introduction. You have to dig a little deeper to find their true original ranges.
 
#24 ·
That critter was a dragonfly or damselfly nymph. When large they can do real damage.
 
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