Limnophila aromatica 'Mini'

This plant, also called Limnophila sp. "Kalimantan Mini", was also taken for Limnophila repens. This nice dwarf form of Limnophila aromatica is still uncommon in the aquarium hobby and hardly available in trade, although it is already known in Europe for more than one decade. It has two to three, sometimes more leaves per node that are mostly about 1 to 2,5 cm long and display light green to brown-red tones in the submerged form. The stomata on the leaves are visible under water as tiny silvery spots. The leaf midribs and stems remain light green, forming a nice contrast to the leaf surface. However we have noticed that this Limnophila may develop about 3-5 cm long and 4-5 mm wide leaves, up to 6 per whorl, under favourable conditions - lots of light, CO₂ and nutrients.The plant may get more than 30 cm tall but looks best as an about 10 to 20 cm high group.

Limnophila aromatica 'Mini' looks the most splendid with intense lighting, CO₂ addition, complete macro- and micronutrient supply and rather soft water. The temperature optimum lies between about 22 and 26 °C. The leaves remain light green when the light is only moderate. As well as other stem plants, this Limnophila can be propagated by cuttings.

Still a rarity, the Mini Limnophila is a pretty small stem plant with brown-red and light green tones that is an eyecatcher in the foreground to midground. It deserves more attention in aquascaping and is also well suited to Dutch style aquariums.