Ludwigia Inclinata

Ludwigia inclinata is the Amazon stem plant behind several named trading varieties, and this one is the whorled-leaved form of the species. The narrow leaves are arranged in whorls around the stem, and under strong light the plant takes on a yellow-green to golden cast that stands out against darker stems. It grows tall enough to fill a background.

It comes from the Amazon basin and surrounding parts of tropical South America and Central America, where it grows in soft, acidic, tannin-stained water. It is one of the more demanding soft-water stems: it wants strong light, injected CO₂ and a nutrient-rich, soft water column, and it sulks in hard or alkaline conditions.

The recommended water is soft and acidic, with a pH of 5 to 6.5, and temperatures of 22 to 28 °C. Because the standard plant database has no stable page for the base species at present, the figures here are estimates based on the closely related named varieties rather than a directly published profile. Given the right soft-water setup it grows steadily and rewards the effort.