Characteristics of the brazenia plant, advice on growing, how to reproduce, possible difficulties in care, note for flower growers. Brasenia is a genus that contains only one species of aquatic plant, included in the Cabombaceae family. This only species is named Brasenia schreberi. The native territories of natural growth include the lands of Asia and the North American continent, the northern regions of Australia, and the tropical regions of Africa. In Russia, you can find it in the reservoirs of Primorsky and in the south of the Khabarovsk Territory, as well as in the Amur Region. Places of growth are located in river valleys, oxbows and shallow lakes, prefers silty soils. In the last 10 years, brazing has been found in some areas of the Irkutsk region, which have been isolated from the usual specified range.
| Family name | Kabomb |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Herbaceous |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (division of the rhizome or cuttings) |
| Landing period in open ground | March-September |
| Depth of disembarkation | 0.15-1.8 m |
| Substrate | Fertile, rich in organic matter |
| Acidity of water, pH | Neutral (6, 5-7) or slightly acidic (5-6) |
| Hardness of water | 3–5? |
| Illumination | West or south orientation |
| Moisture indicators | Drying is prohibited, the soil must be constantly moistened |
| Special Requirements | Very demanding |
| Plant height | 1.5-3 m |
| Color of flowers | Dark purple or violet |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Single flowers |
| Flowering time | June-August or early September |
| Decorative time | Spring-summer |
| Place of application | Aquariums, open or artificial reservoirs |
| USDA zone | 5–9 |
According to some reports, the name of the genus of this representative of the flora is named after the surgeon and Moravian missionary Christophe Brasen (1738-1774), who was the first superintendent of the Moravian mission in Nain in Labrador. Well, the specific name was given to him to perpetuate the memory of the naturalist and physician from Germany Johann Schreber (1739-1810). Since Brasenia can form a green carpet on the surface of the water surface with its leaves, it is called a “water shield” in its native lands.
Brazil is a deep-sea plant with an elongated horizontal thin rhizome. At the same time, he prefers to be submerged to a depth of one and a half to three meters, where the silty soil has a high organic content. The root is divided by internodes every 30 cm. From these nodes originate downward root processes, which resemble threads and serve to fix the bushes in the bottom substrate. From the same nodes, the stems grow vertically, differ in branching, thin and long, since the leaves are at their tops and float on the surface of the water. The stems under water are painted in a dark red or dark purple hue, but gradually approaching the surface of the color, it acquires a dark green tone, which changes at the very top to a greenish one.
The entire underwater part of this deep-sea plant is coated in the form of mucus. Moreover, this mucus also covers the entire lower part of the leaves, stems and developing buds. There is information that such a mucous coating is a kind of protection against herbivores and possibly to prevent snails from eating. It is this slimy coating that allows the leaves and other parts to float on the water and protects in winter, preventing the plant from freezing.
The sheet plates have a rounded or elliptical shape, corymbose, the surface is glossy, shiny, resembling wax. The leaves are attached to long petioles (the length directly depends on the depth at which the brazia grows) and are arranged on the stems in the next order. The diameter of the leaf can reach 12 cm, its diameter is 5–10 cm, and the width parameters vary in the range of 3–5 cm. The edge of the foliage is wavy, often the edges are bent inward. The color of the leaves is also quite interesting, so the convex part on top has a rich dark green color, and on the back the leaf has a crimson or chestnut hue.
Typically, this deep-water brazenia plant has buds in the leaf axils, and they are located singly. Flower buds develop underwater and are covered in mucus. When blooming, bisexual flowers open, crowning a bare stem, which rises above the water a little more than 10 cm. The flowers have petals of a dark purple or violet tone, their reverse side is greenish. In diameter, a flower can be 1–1, 2 cm. But in comparison with leaves, flowers have no decorative value and are hardly noticeable against its background. The number of sepals and petals in flowers is the same and reaches 3 units, occasionally their number ranges from 2–4 pieces. The petals grow freely and have a bend. Their outlines are linear-lanceolate. There can be from 12 to 18 stamens in the corolla; they look very beautifully from the low-expressive middle of the flower. Moreover, their tops are white, which also adds to the attractiveness. The number of pistils ranges from 2-9 pairs.
The flowering process occurs in the second half of summer, or the buds can bloom in early autumn. However, flower buds begin to form at the end of the winter months. The flowers usually stand open for a very short time, only from 6 to 9 in the morning, then they are immersed under the surface of the water surface, and only with the arrival of the next morning they will again show their heads above the water.
Pollination of brazenia flowers is presumably carried out by insects or by wind. The flowers have a two-day blooming period, that is, they bloom for two days. On the first day, a female or pistillate flower is functional, then its bud appears above the water. Sepals and petals open and bend downward. Although stamens and pistils are present in every flower, only pistils appear on the first day of flowering. The stalks of the pistils lengthen and stretch outward, protruding above the petals. The pistils stand clearly above the surface of the water and give out susceptible stigmas. At night, the flower stem bends, and the flowers are submerged under the water, as if a flower “hides” in the depths. The next day, a functional male or protruding flower appears with folded pistils. It is raised higher than on the previous day, and the anthers carrying the fibers are elongated behind the female flowers. The flower stems elongate and the anthers open so that the flowers are cross-pollinated. The anthers are activated by excreting pollen. After flowering, the sepals and petals fold, and the flower sinks below the surface of the water, where the fruit, which is located in the petals and sepals, develops.
Brazenia fruits have transitional outlines from leaflet to nut, not exceeding 4–8 mm in length. Their surface is leathery, inside there are 1-3 seeds. Fruits ripen only while in water, therefore it is difficult to collect seeds. When the seeds are fully ripe, the leaflet begins to float on the surface of the reservoir until its shell collapses and then it sinks. Seed material spills out onto the silty bottom soil and germinates only with the arrival of spring heat.
When grown in culture, only a well-trained florist can cope with Brazil, since it is distinguished by exacting care, but if all the rules are strictly and strictly followed, it will become a real decoration of your reservoir or aquarium. It can be planted in a coastal area or in a garden container.
Tips for growing a bracing schreber for ponds and aquariums
- Location. Since the plant grows in nature in open areas, it is necessary to select similar conditions for it. For aquarium cultivation, a western or southern location is recommended, since it is necessary to provide several hours of direct sunlight. If necessary, backlighting with fluorescent lamps is used, and it is desirable that the duration of daylight hours is at least 12 hours a day. Only for the winter period, this time can become less. If this deep-sea representative of the flora is grown in a reservoir directly in the ground, then it is necessary that there is no freezing to the very bottom even in long and frosty winters, otherwise this will lead to the death of Brasenia schreberi. It also follows that the reservoir does not have a strong current, standing water or its weak movement is suitable. In central Russia (with a temperate climate), it is customary to plant such bushes in garden containers filled with fertile soil, which can be lowered to a depth of 1, 8 m or more, provided that the pond or river does not freeze to the bottom. When cultivating it in an aquarium, its depth should be more than 60 cm. However, it should be remembered that when grown in aquarium conditions, this bush, which does not require special care in nature, becomes especially capricious. It can only occasionally coexist with other representatives of aquatic flora and fauna. But even with this content, its lifespan will not exceed three years, since there is no way to create significant differences between summer and winter temperatures to simulate the dormant period at the "water shield".
- Temperature. It is clear that the deep-water brazenia plant is a thermophilic representative of the flora, for which the optimal heat indices are in the range of 18-25 degrees. Due to the fact that all parts are covered with jelly-like mucus, resembling an agar layer, the shoots in winter have a kind of natural protection through it. When frosts come, the tops of the shoots of the plant, on which green rudimentary leaves are formed, are frozen into the ice. But in this case, the mucous coating will protect young foliage from death. After the ice shell of the reservoir melts, the agar-like layer will dissolve, the green shoots will descend to the silty bottom soil and begin to root. If the cultivation of brazenia takes place in greenhouse conditions, it is recommended to reduce the temperature to 12-15 degrees for all winter months, but then a protective mucous layer will not form. An agar layer will begin to appear if the temperature drops below 2–4 degrees Celsius.
- Fertilizers. This deep-sea exotic will have enough of those nutrients that it receives from the soil. Occasionally, a universal fertilizer for aquarium flora can be applied - Dennerle Plant Elixir or Dennerle DeponitMix Professional.
- Landing. After the barzenia plant has been acquired or its division has been carried out, the planting must be carried out as quickly as possible, since the mucous layer, although it serves as protection, is only temporary and drying is not needed. The bushes must be placed in a hole dug in a container or muddy soil so that the entire root system is thoroughly covered with a substrate. Often, when planting in a natural reservoir, while the plant has not yet rooted, weights are tied to it. As soon as the roots independently "hold" to the soil, such devices are untied. It is possible to plant a schreber in the open ground of a reservoir as soon as the ice cover melts and until autumn. In the southern regions, this can be done for longer.
- Watering. If the "water shield" is grown in a garden container that is not submerged in water, then it needs constant soil moisture. Watering should be done more than three times a week, and when the summer temperature is hot, then every day. The aquarium substrate must contain nutrients such as Tetra Plant Complete Substrate or formulations from ADA. The latter consist of two types that are used together: Power Sand (drainage) and Aqua Soil (top layer).
Brazil: how to breed
A plant such as a water shield can be propagated by sowing seeds or dividing an overgrown bush.
For seed reproduction, the time from the beginning of May is suitable, so that the water temperature is in the range of 18-20 degrees. At the same time, freshly harvested seeds are used, and especially in open water conditions, it is important that the material is immersed in silty soil. The problem here is waterfowl, which can eat up the floating seeds. But if everything worked out and the seeds were carefully buried, then after 1-2 weeks they will germinate.
It is often possible to grow "seedlings" of brazenia on their own. So the seeds are planted in an "artificial" reservoir. Any container is taken as it, filled with aquarium or any other fertile soil, for example, Dennerle Kristall-Quarzkies. Then enough water is poured there to bring the substrate into a swamp consistency. Seeds are placed in such a soil mixture and carefully watered, but so that they do not float. Then they put the container in a warm place and make sure that it does not dry out. As soon as young brazenes appear and develop, they can be planted both in an aquarium and in an open reservoir.
When dividing an overgrown bush by brazing the schreber, the time is not particularly stipulated. This can be done throughout the growing season. To do this, it is necessary to extract the plant from water or soil, and divide it in such a way that each of the divisions is the owner of one node, equipped with root shoots and at least one point of renewal of shoot growth. After that, the cuttings are planted in the chosen place: directly into the muddy soil of the reservoir or into the aquarium environment.
If the plant is planted in a reservoir with suitable conditions, then reproduction often occurs using cuttings. It happens that the top of the shoot, which has a bud on itself, can independently break off from part of the entire stem and float on the surface of the water for several weeks. After that, it drowns and falls on the fertile muddy bottom soil, where it successfully releases roots and takes root. But in such cases, without control over such spontaneous reproduction, Brasenia schreberi can aggressively displace other representatives of the aquatic flora.
Brazil: possible difficulties in caring for a plant for a reservoir
Since all parts of the plant have a jelly-like mucus coating, they are not of interest to harmful insects or diseases. Still, there are some problems with growing.
Changes in the water level in the reservoir have a bad effect on the growth of the schreber. At the same time, due to a lack of water, growth begins to slow down, and disease damage is possible, the foliage loses its elasticity and its color turns pale. Frequent floods cause the lack of flowering or the buds open early and wither.
Flower growers on a note about brazenia, photo
According to scientific information, brazenia is a plant that originated in the period from 65 million years ago to 1, 8 million years ago and could have witnessed the extinction of dinosaurs, that is, its appearance dates back to the years of the Cenozoic era. Schreber's brazia is listed in the Red Book of the Soviet Union.
The leaves and shoots contain substances that have long been known to healers. With their help, they fight cancer, and infusions are used because of the astringent and tonic effect, and such a remedy also helps in diseases of the respiratory system and diphtheria.
Brazilian video:
