Description of the plant and its features, tips for cultivating pistia, independent reproduction and transplantation, possible problems with care. Pistia (Pistia stratiotes) is a member of the plural Araceae family, which numbers approximately 3000 species, and they, in turn, are included in 17 genera. But pistia stands alone, as it is the only herb that grows on water. She has enough names, for example, you can find "water salad" or "water lettuce". The native habitat of almost all areas with a tropical climate in the eastern and southern hemispheres of the planet. Most of all he prefers reservoirs with running water. But it is specially grown for sale in the tropical city of Malacca, which is located in Asia and the island territories of Kalimantan.
General description of pistia
Pistia blooms (in the photo below, left) and on the right in the aquarium. The root system of the pistia is distinguished by its plurality and feathery appearance, it is completely submerged under the water surface of the reservoir. The stem is rather short. The leaf plates form a rosette floating on the water surface, have spaces between the cells, which are filled with air and ensure the plant is unsinkable. The leaves are shaded gray-green, are located almost sitting on the stem, take a wedge-shaped shape with a blunt apex. At this apex, they are widened and well rounded, and at the base they have a narrowing. Measured 15–25 cm in length and 10 cm in width. The veins are located parallel along the length of the sheet plate and, as it were, are pressed into it. Because of them, the surface of the sheet gives the impression of corrugation, which also appears as ribbing on the reverse side. These veins have pronounced shapes at the very base, which gradually flatten towards the top of the leaf. Due to this structure, the sheet plate has good stability on the water surface. Also, the entire surface is covered with small short hairs of a grayish hue, they envelop the leaf like a cocoon, preventing it from getting wet, they are a natural water-repellent material.
The inflorescence has a reduced shape. The sheet cover is not more than 2 cm in length, light green and also covered with fine hairs. It envelops the ear just over a centimeter in length. The top of the cob is crowned with male staminate flowers. Their number varies from 2 to 8 pieces. The flowers are small, but quite beautiful and resemble calla flowers in their shape. These flowers are distinguished by the longitudinal fusion of two stamens (sindaria). A little lower is a female flower, which grows alone and carries multiple ovules. Since the plant is dioecious (the presence of female and male flowers), it pollinates independently, as soon as the anthers open on the stamens of male flowers, the pollen, falling from them, pollinates the stigma of the female flower. Despite the fact that there is no cross-pollination (when the flowers of another plant are pollinated), the pistia bears fruit quite abundantly, in which full-fledged seeds develop. This seed is used for reproduction of the pistia.
The development of the pistia includes several cycles of activity. As soon as the length of daylight begins to increase, the pistia begins to grow sharply, at this time young strong leaf plates begin to appear. At the same time, the rosettes of the pistia can be up to 10–12 cm in diameter, and they have numerous lateral shoots (layering or stolons). This process of active vegetation lasts for several months. During this period, the reproduction and growth of baby plants begins to intensify, which are rapidly catching up with the mother plant. This process can take 6-8 weeks. As soon as the adult plant grows up to 8 cm in diameter, the babies can be carefully separated. This will help keep the adult plant in good enough growing conditions and will significantly improve its health, as well as the separation of young animals will give more light for plants that are located on the ground. With the arrival of the last summer days, the pistia stops its rapid growth and sheds part of its leaf mass. Only medium-sized leaves and the rhizome itself remain for wintering. Growth also stops in children of the Pistia, which may appear at the end of the summer months, they remain, as it were, in a sluggish state, waiting for the spring heat.
Recommendations for growing and caring for pistia
Using pistia
Most often, this plant is distributed in warm greenhouses, in which there are reservoirs. Very often, the pistia is offered in stores specializing in the sale of aquarium fish and plants. It is grown in ponds that are filled with fish for use after harvest for feeding pigs. In Chinese cooking, pistia leaves are boiled and eaten. It has a specific application when removing stains placed on fabrics or when washing dishes contaminated with grease. It is actively consumed in Asian medicine for many different diseases.
Application in aquariums
Pistia is known for its light filter properties and is used to filter water in aquariums. This is done by the root system of the plant. It actively removes from the water in which it grows, excess organic inclusions, various suspensions and turbidity. She has an excellent ability to remove harmful salts of heavy metals from water and accumulate them in her leaves. This property is applicable not only in aquariums, but even in wastewater treatment plants in subtropical or tropical climates.
Large rosettes of green leaves of the pistia shade a pond or an aquarium well, but the plant must be thinned periodically, since the pistia can grow strongly and completely cover the water surface. Small fish or fry find refuge in the roots of the pistia. The root system characterizes the saturation of the water with nutrients. If the roots are powerful and sufficiently branched, fluffy and long (they can even reach the soil during their development), then there are very few organic substances and microelements in the water. When this set of components is present in large quantities, the root system does not grow so much. To prevent such phenomena, frequent changes of water in the aquarium or filling it with fish are necessary, the waste, whose vital activity, in turn, will fill the water with humus. There is one peculiarity for this plant of character: the pistia sticks out its roots as if against the current and this keeps it in one place, even if the current is rather rapid. This property is noticed both in natural reservoirs and in aquariums equipped with a pump, if the surface of the water occupies a large area and is not cluttered by other plants.
It is recommended to breed pistia in terrariums where red-eared turtles are kept. These freshwater fish love to perch on large leaf rosettes of the pistia, as well as treat themselves to its leaves and roots.
Lighting for pistia
The cyclicity of a plant can depend not only on the seasons of the year, but also on the lighting in the day. With sufficient illumination, the entire rosette opens up, and the leaves practically fit onto the surface of the water. As soon as the plant has collected enough light, which will be necessary for it to support the process of photosynthesis, the rosette begins to fold tightly, resembling flower buds that close in the evening.
Illumination for the pistia should be up to 10-12 hours (this is if we take into account the aquarium lighting of 10 watts per 1 decimeter square illuminated surface). If such a condition is not met, then the pistia can decrease so much in size that it will look like a duckweed. Lighting of different types of lamps is best suited: 40 Watt incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps (which is of the LB type). In order to protect the leaf plates of the pistia from possible burns, the "traps" are placed no closer than 5 cm to the plant, and ordinary lamps at a distance of 10-15 cm. In this case, do not cover the aquarium tightly, as it can create a strong greenhouse effect. This will prevent the pistia from breathing normally. It is also necessary to ensure that the water in the aquarium does not contain a lot of iron impurities, from which the pistia bushes will immediately wither away.
Water temperature and indicators
The plant perfectly tolerates any indicators of acidity and hardness of water. But if, nevertheless, the growth of the pistia has slowed down a little, it means that the hardness indicators are very high, a water change is necessary. The pH values should range from 4 to 7, only then it feels great. The plant is completely unassuming to temperature diversity - the pistia can feel great both at 18 degrees and more than 30. The optimal temperature is still considered to be within 24-30 degrees in the warm months of the year, and with the arrival of autumn it should be lowered to 18–20. But it is important to consider that if the temperature indicators of air and water began to increase, then it is necessary to increase the lighting.
Top dressing for pistia
It is advisable to mix fertilizers with a complex of minerals into the water. This procedure is repeated almost every week, adding only 2 g of such fertilizers to 100 liters of water. In this case, the water must be changed weekly.
Planting pestles and keeping in pots
It is allowed to grow pistia in special tanks, where conditions are created with a half-aquatic environment (palundarium), in a pot. The soil is composed of peat land and coarse sand, taken in equal parts. It is also permissible to add 1-2 tablespoons of garden soil if the diameter of the pot does not exceed 5-10 cm. The container with the plant is placed in a tray filled with water. Under such conditions, the pistia grows in the same way as in water, only now the leaf plates will differ in smoother contours, they will be, as it were, slightly rounded, the size of the leaves and their number will be almost the same as in specimens growing on the water surface.
Winter rest conditions
The winter period becomes a difficult test for the plant and the main task of the aquarist is to create acceptable conditions for the pistia. For this, the lighting in the aquarium is significantly reduced and the regularity of water changes is reduced. This dormant period can last from 2 to 3 months, after which the plant will begin to actively develop again. But often, this is neglected and the lighting in the winter period is even increased so that the plant develops non-stop all year round. But such a violation of the rules of cultivation will lead to the fact that, without a dormant period, the pistia begins to rapidly degenerate and then its leaf rosette will be only 3-5 cm in diameter with a small number (only 4–5) of leaves.
Reproduction of pistia
The plant can be propagated by the lateral shoots method or by planting seeds.
It is possible to propagate pistia more quickly using lateral shoots (stolons), which are very elongated and die off quickly. Usually stolons have underdeveloped leaf plates and buds in the leaf axils. On these shoots, shoots appear that have the appearance of a whisker. These "whiskers" are daughter plants. At that moment, when 2-3 leaves are formed on this "mustache", the children can be separated from the adult pistia. If such children appear in the winter, then you will have to place them on bog sphagnum moss and cover them with glass to create conditions with high humidity. The temperature indicators of the water should not fall below 10 degrees, and the optimal indicators will be 12-14 degrees. With the arrival of spring heat, the grown young animals move to an aquarium with good lighting. In natural reservoirs, the children of the pistia detach themselves from the mother plant, and they are carried by the current or animals.
If a decision is made to reproduce the pistia with seed material, then it is necessary to collect them, keeping them until the spring. In aquarium conditions, such breeding is quite problematic, in contrast to the natural environment. In a reservoir, seed material falls to the bottom, where it accumulates in huge quantities (up to 4000 / m2). If the dry period has come, then the seeds can stay dormant for a long time in the dried silt (soil) at the bottom. As soon as the temperature rises above 20 degrees, the humidity rises and illumination is added, the seeds begin to germinate. Seed material is quite viable and can withstand temperatures of about 4 degrees Celsius and even up to several weeks with a low (up to -5 degrees) frost. But if the temperature drops even lower, then the pistia will die, since it does not have stable organs that will ensure germination and reproduction.
Pistia is a harmful plant
In many southern countries, the pistia is considered to be a weed plant, since it is almost never used on the farm. Sometimes even, it is considered a rather harmful species, since, when the pistia grows, it can cover the entire surface of the reservoir with its leafy rosettes, like a thick green carpet. It also harms the growing number of reservoirs, as it saturates the waterways with biogenic elements, which have a very high density. In many countries, control has been established for this vegetation so that it does not enter pristine water bodies.
Learn more about the pistia in this video:
