Sign in Start free
Species library › Cryptocoryne › Cryptocoryne purpurea
Aroids Well documented

Cryptocoryne purpurea

A small water trumpet from blackwater peat swamp forest in Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, known for its purple-red spathe. It needs soft, acidic water and stable warmth; in hard water it usually declines.

Cryptocoryne purpurea
Photo: Matilda Smith / John Nugent Fitch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Very humid airBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodAquatic

Where it grows wild

Grows in shaded, acidic blackwater pools and streams in lowland peat swamp forest, submersed at high water and emersed when levels drop.

The measured sites lie at 80–200 m; it is a lowland plant.

Peninsular MalaysiaBorneo

🔒 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

Grow Cryptocoryne purpurea? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Cryptocoryne

Cryptocoryne wendtii Cryptocoryne ferruginea Cryptocoryne affinis Cryptocoryne beckettii Cryptocoryne undulata Cryptocoryne usteriana Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia Cryptocoryne auriculata Cryptocoryne parva Cryptocoryne spiralis Cryptocoryne dewitii Cryptocoryne walkeri All 94 →

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 Public domain licence, unmodified.