Anubias gigantea facts for kids

Anubias gigantea is a plant in the Araceae family. It was first mentioned by Auguste Chevalier in 1920. This was based on material that he had collected in Guinea. The first description for science was in 1939 by John Hutchinson. It is closely related to A. afzelii from which it differs only by the form of the leaf-blade.

Other names

A. gigantea var. tripartita Chevalier, 1920 and A. hastifolia var. robusta Engler, 1915 are invalid names (synonyms) for A. gigantea.

Where it grows

The plant is found in West Africa, including the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Togo.

Description

The plant's leave blades are large and arrow-shaped. They can be up to 30 cm (12 in) long and 14 cm (5.5 in) wide. The leaf stems are a little bit shorter till up to 2.5 times longer than the blade. The leaves are set on a creeping and rooting rhizome. It is 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) thick. The spathe is 3.5–8 cm (1.4–3.1 in) long and has a 14–60 cm (5.5–23.6 in) long peduncle. The spadix is up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long. It is a little bit longer than the spathe. Therefore, the tip of the spadix sticks a little bit out of the spathe. The upper part of the spadix is covered with male flowers. Their of which the 4-6 stamens are fused. The anthers (also called thecae) are on its sides. The lower part of the spadix is covered with female flowers. These are reduced to the ovary and stigma.

Ecology

The plant is grows in wet rocky places at the banks of rivers or in the riverbed. It flowers from February to April.

Growing conditions

This plant grows best when only partly under water and when not crowded by other plants. It is most suited for the paludarium. It can also be used in larger aquariums, where it grows very slowly. It does not need much light. It prefers a temperature range of 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F). It can be propagated by dividing the rhizome. Propagation by seed is also easy.