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Species library › Aponogeton › Aponogeton distachyos
Other Well documented

Aponogeton distachyos

Cape pondweed or water hawthorn, a South African aquatic with floating leaves and sweetly scented white forked flower spikes. In the wild it grows in winter-wet ponds and vleis that dry out in summer, so it grows and flowers in the cool months and goes dormant in heat or drought.

Aponogeton distachyos
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity —Band in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restAquatic

Where it grows wild

Seasonal ponds, vleis and slow streams in the winter-rainfall Cape, dormant as tubers in dried mud through summer.

Recorded at 20–435 m, with a median of 61 m.

Western CapeEastern Cape

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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More Aponogeton

Aponogeton lakhonensis Aponogeton ulvaceus Aponogeton madagascariensis Aponogeton crispus Aponogeton satarensis Aponogeton abyssinicus Aponogeton bernierianus Aponogeton capuronii Aponogeton rigidifolius Aponogeton azureus Aponogeton ranunculiflorus Aponogeton longiplumulosus All 60 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.