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 those trimmings are always the next batch of plants.