Bacopa caroliniana
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| Bacopa caroliniana (Walt.) B.L. Robins |
Lemon Bacopa / Water Hyssop (Bacopa caroliniana) is a perennial, creeping herb
Perennial. The leaves of this plant are succulent, smell of lemon if crushed, and relatively thick. Leaves are oblanceolate and are arranged oppositely on the stem. The flowers are blue, with five petals. Its ability to grow in water makes it a popular aquarium plant. It can even grow in slightly brackish conditions. Propagation is through cuttings. Grows to 50-100 cm.
It commonly grows in marshy areas in the southern United States where it can be grown in damp conditions by the pond or bog garden.
It will grow above the water if given the chance with similar but waxy leaves and will even flower underwater occasionally, though the flowers soon rot. Emerse flowers don’t seem to set seed on their own so it probably requires cross pollination.
Grows easily in the aquarium. The colour of the leaves will vary, depending on the amount of light. The leaves will turn bronze or even almost red under high light levels.
In the wild it grows in bog or semi-submersed conditions, adapting well if flooded and fully submerged. It can be grown in or by the pond in warmer states (or in shallow dishes or as a house plant if kept sufficiently damp) and will grow all year round, but is frost tender (though it will normally grow back from the roots if damaged) and appreciates a light shade. In the aquarium it needs good lighting to grow strongly but will survive in even fairly low-light levels.
Synonyms include Bacopa amplexicaulis
