Kedagang Buce

Bucephalandra sp. 'Kedagang' is one of the many named forms of Bucephalandra from Borneo, a slow epiphyte with a creeping rhizome and leathery leaves that carry a red-brown to wine-red flush, strongest under good light. It stays low at about 8 cm, which is exactly why it is popular: it fills the nooks of hardscape without ever outgrowing them.

Like the rest of its genus it grows attached to wood or stone, not planted in substrate, and it is forgiving of a wide range of conditions. Flowgrow suggests temperatures of 20 to 26 °C and a pH of 5 to 7. It grows fine without CO₂ injection, just slowly; better light and feeding speed it up, and the deep red tones depend on bright light rather than on supplements.

Propagation is by cutting the rhizome, and pieces with a few leaves each root and grow on. It suits the foreground and midground of aquascapes as well as nano tanks, where its textured, slightly crinkled leaves stand out against smooth stone.