Cabomba
Encyclopedia
Cabomba is an aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...

 genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

, one of two belonging to the family Cabombaceae
Cabombaceae
Cabombaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. The family has been recognised as distinct by at least some taxonomists and by APG III...

. It has divided submerged leaves in the shape of a fan (hence the vernacular name fanwort) and is much favoured by aquarists as an ornamental and oxygenating plant for fishtanks. Its use in the aquarium trade has led to some species being introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 to parts of the world, such as Australia, where they have become pestilential weeds.

Species

  • Cabomba aquatica
    Cabomba aquatica
    Cabomba aquatica, also known as fanwort or giant cabomba, is an aquatic plant native to South America.Cabomba is a common aquarium plant. The stems will grow up to 50 cm and thus they must be trimmed periodically in aquaria. They are easily propagated by planting cuttings from the present...

    Aubl.
    Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet
    Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet was a French pharmacist, botanist and explorer.Born in Salon-de-Provence, he joined the French East India Company and in 1752 was sent to Mauritius to establish a pharmacy and a botanical garden. He worked there for nine years...

    (fanwort)
  • Cabomba caroliniana
    Cabomba caroliniana
    Cabomba caroliniana, commonly known as Green Cabomba, is an aquatic perennial herbaceous plant native to North America. It is a Weed of National Significance in Australia.-Distribution:...

    A. Gray
    Asa Gray
    -References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....

    ("Green Cabomba")
  • Cabomba furcata
    Cabomba furcata
    Cabomba furcata is a species of aquatic plant in the water shield family known by the common names red cabomba and forked fanwort. It is native to South America and as far north as Cuba and the tip of Florida. It reaches a maximum height between 30 and 80 centimeters and is up to 8 centimeters...

    Schult.
    Josef August Schultes
    Josef August Schultes 1773-1831 was an Austrian botanist and professor in Vienna. Together with Johann Jacob Roemer, he published the 16th edition of Linnaeus' Systema Vegetabilium. In 1821, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.Father of Julius Hermann...

     & Schult.f.
    Julius Hermann Schultes
    Julius Hermann Schultes was an Austrian botanist in Vienna. He co-authored volume 7 of the Roemer & Schultes edition of the Systema Vegetabilium with his father Josef August Schultes.-Notes:...

    ("Red Cabomba")
  • Cabomba haynesii Wiersema
  • Cabomba palaeformis Fassett

Cabomba as an aquarium plant

Cabomba is frequently planted in aquaria
Aquaria
Aquaria may refer to:*Aquarium, in the plural*Aquaria , a computer game*Aquaria , a Brazilian metal band*Aquaria, one of the Twelve Colonies in Battlestar Galactica...

, as an attractive-leaved water plant that is fast-growing (up to one inch per day). Green Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana) is the most common, as well as the easiest aquarium subject. By contrast Red Cabomba (Cabomba furcata) is considered to be one of the hardest plants to take care of in the aquarium.

Cabomba plants in the aquarium require good light (i.e. 1.5-3 Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

s per gallon), and warm water temperatures (from 18°-32°C). They also benefit from regular CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 injection and a good quality substrate that is rich in all of the macro- and micronutrients (aquarists commonly use proprietary fertilizer solutions). Cabomba may be propagated by cuttings (typically a 4 inch piece of stem), which require good light conditions to root. When kept outdoors it is hardy to Zone 5. In the fall the stems break apart into sections and sink to the bottom in spring each one sprouts as an individual plant

External links

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