Shade mudflower

The small, round leaves grow in opposite pairs along a thin stem, and the plant keeps a compact, bushy shape only with regular trimming and stable CO₂. Micranthemum umbrosum, known as shade mudflower, comes from the southeastern United States, where it grows in wet, sandy soils along stream edges and in shallow water.

Each leaf is about 1 cm across, bright green, and slightly translucent. The stems branch readily when cut, which is the main way to keep the plant dense. Without trimming, the stems grow straight up and the lower leaves drop, leaving bare stalks. It reaches 10 to 15 cm and works best in the midground or foreground of a layout.

The optimum temperature is a narrow 22 to 24 °C with pH 5 to 7. CO₂ at 20 to 40 mg/l is required to keep the plant compact — without it the stems stretch and the plant looks leggy and thin. Moderate to high light helps maintain the dense, carpet-like form.

Propagation is by cuttings: trim a stem just above a node, remove the lower leaves, and replant. The cut node produces two new shoots, filling the cluster over time. It also grows emersed in moist substrate, producing small white flowers above the waterline. Under the right conditions it is one of the cleanest midground filler plants, forming a soft, rounded cluster of tiny green leaves.