Stargrass

Stargrass is a stem plant from Brazil, where it grows in stagnant water and along swampy margins, and it is one of the most forgiving plants a new aquarist can start with. Its bright green, lance-shaped leaves crowd along upright stems that reach about 30 cm, and it serves equally well in Dutch-style layouts and nature tanks, trimmed to whatever height the scape needs.

It is genuinely undemanding: medium light and no CO₂ are enough for healthy growth, and it accepts a wide range of water at a pH of 5 to 8 and temperatures of 20 to 25 °C. What makes it useful as well as easy is that it doubles as a water-quality indicator: when nitrogen runs short its leaves turn transparent before wilting, and when phosphorus is low the bright green deepens to a darker shade.

Propagation is by cuttings, and trimmed tops root readily when replanted. Because it grows fast it needs regular trimming, and healthy tip or side-shoot cuttings can be replanted to expand the group.