trifoliate

Three-leaved scutellum, scientific name Hydrocotyle cf. tripartita. This plant has many names. For example, in Asia it is better known as Hydrocotyle maritima. Until 2010, it was not known in Europe, until it was brought to Germany from Japan, naming the Japanese pennywort (Hydrocotyle sp. “Japan”). Since 2013, it has been grown in commercial nurseries in Europe and America under the real name, but with the suffix “cf.”, which indicates that the exact species of this plant has not been established. In Australia and Japan, outwardly very similar varieties of this plant are used in the aquarium hobby, and which of them is represented in Europe is unknown.

Sometimes the name Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides (Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides) is used as a synonym, but in reality it is an independent species that has a certain resemblance to the three-leafed Shchitolist. The shape of leaf blades resembles clover, its leaves on thin petioles are also divided into 3–5 fragments. In bright light and high concentrations of carbon dioxide, the plant forms a colonizing stem that covers the ground and decorative elements with a rough surface (driftwood, stones). In low light, the growth rate is slow, the shoots tend to grow upwards, the stems are straight and less flocked. Able to grow both under water and in the air on wet substrates or, like ferns, fixing on snags. Growing in home aquariums is easy. A comfortable environment is considered to be slightly acidic warm water and nutrient soil, while the use of specialized soil is not required. Organic substances that are formed naturally from fish are quite enough.