C. pontederiifolia

Since my C. pontederiifolia started blooming last month, it has already continuously boomed for the 3rd time and so, I decided to cut the spathe off today for photography purpose:

Well, that's the best I could do with my Nokia N73......

Cryptocorynes found during old field trips in Singapore

Many species of cryptocorynes can be found in the wild in Singapore, many are probably not native but introduced species brought in by the aquatic plant traders and farmers due to their popularity as an aquarium species. Below are some photographic records which I took during my old field trips to just one single locality in Singapore and I was not even into collecting cryptocorynes then!

Probably an introduced species of various variants of C. wendtii (due to its popularity as an aquarium species) since this species is recorded as only distributed in Sri Lanka by the crypts pages?

Probably another introduced species and a rather popular aquarium species too, C. parva, which is also recorded as only distributed in Sri Lanka by the crypts pages.

This possibly could be C. griffithii (I thought I do see some tinges of redness below the leaves) which is recorded as a native species in Singapore by the crypts pages, finally!

Could this be a submersed C. x timahensis (i.e. transplanted to this place from Bukit Timah Hill since this species could really fetch very good money for the aquatic plant farms nearby)? If yes, this is another not only native but endemic species of Singapore according to the crypts pages!

I was lucky to managed to find a spathe of C. pontederiifolia there too. The crypts pages recorded its distribution as only in West Sumatra. Is this likely be an introduced species too or could this possibly be a native species since Sumatra is actually not as far from Singapore as compared to Sri Lanka?

The above are just pure speculations and if I identified any of the species shown in these old photographs wrongly, do let me know and sorry for the errors.

C. schulzei natural habitat

I went for a field trip last weekend to Johor state with my friend and had the opportunity to visit one of the natural habitat of C. schulzei around Kota Tinggi. Belows are some photographs showing this natural habitat to share with you guys, its a pity I brought the pH test kit but forgot to test the pH level!!!

Using peat granules instead of raw peat moss

I have found a less messier alternative to using raw peat moss to lower the pH of the water: peat granules! I just place a couple of granules in a small tupperware and sink the entire tupperware with the peat granulates into the water. Unlike raw peat moss, the peat granules will not float around freely and dirty the water. I am able to maintain the pH at 4.5 using 2 tupperwares of these.

update on C. sp. 'Pahang' (C. affinis?)

As posted in some forums, these are some updated photographs of the C. sp. 'Pahang' (possibly miniture C. affinis but will still have to wait for them to flower to confirm). The photographs below shows the plants in submersed growth condition, in a small tank with GEX soil (light green colour packaging) and distilled water without any base fertiliser. Noticed the red speckles on the new leaves?


This is a photograph of the some of these cryptocorynes after 2 months of cultivation in emersed form.