Cryptocoryne ferruginea is moderate sized Crypt with an overall size of at most ca 20 cm. Its leaves are even green as are the lower sides. Some forms have a marmorated upper side of the leave, the leave edge can be finely undulated.

Click on the picture to get the full image (ca. 50 kB)

The spathe of C. ferruginea has a long, more or less twisted tail and opens mostly with a small crack. photo de Wit	The tail normally stands upright. Note the barrel shaped kettle, very typical for this species. photo de Wit	The kettle inside has a deep purple red color. The valve closing the entrance to the tube has the same color. photo de Wit	A young plant showing the marmorated form (transverse stripes on the leaves). photo Bastmeijer
An imported plant (NJ 78-44) from the Stapok F.R. This form lacks the marmorated leaves and is a bit taller. photo Bastmeijer	The leaves of the Stapok plants are bigger and often have a finely undulated margin. Note that the spathe is rather close to C. fusca. photo Ehrenberg	The marmorated type with the tail a bit bent. Note how small the plant is, leave blades about 4 cm. photo Bastmeijer	A length section of the kettle.Note the constriction at two thirds of its height, seen in more species (less pronounced in C. fusca). photo Bastmeijer
A cultivated specimen by Henry Ong, Kuching, in the 70s. The spathes are rather 'thick'. Note the opposite twist in both spathes, rather common. photo Jacobsen	A very unusual spathe of C. ferruginea (it surely is!). The limb / tail is short and the whole resembles C. moehlmannii. photo Bastmeijer	Drawing of C. ferruginea. De Wit (1990) holds the opinion that nrs 7 - 11 represent another species: C. sarawacensis. drawing Ike Zewald	Distribution of C. ferruginea in Sarawak and Kalimantan. The close related C. fusca grows more South, in West Kalimantan.

Habitat.
The known habitats of C. ferruginea are streams / rivers with a strong tidal influence. That may happen for 50 or more km upstream, so it does not mean you have to be very close to the sea. It grows a bit more upstream than C. ciliata and C. lingua, but you can find them growing together (Jacobsen 1980, 1990).

Cultivating.
Cultivating C. ferruginea in the emersed way is rather easy. Just use a mixture of sand and peat litter or beech tree soil and they will do (slowly). Submersed is more difficult on the long term, probably due to the not appropriate soil.

Relations.
C. ferruginea is no doubt closely related to C. fusca. The former is known from the region between Kuching and Bau. The latter grows in the Western part of Kalimantan, South of the C. ferruginea localities. Both inhabit the fresh water tidal areas. Both have - in well developed plants - a very characteristic feature: the lower side of the leaves are (more or less densely) covered with hairs.

Some taxonomic history.
C. ferruginea is described by Engler in 1879, based on material collected in Sarawak by Beccari. Not until 1966, plants collected by H. Ong (Kuching, Sarawak) were shipped to the Netherlands by Y.W. Ong from Singapore (van der Vlugt, 1969). De Wit was not aware of its true identity and had the opinion that is must be C. pontederiifolia - in that days a very poor known species from Sumatra, the herbarium material missing the inflorescence (de Wit 1971). Rataj gave the new plant a subspecies status: C. pontederiifolia spp. sarawacensis (Rataj 1975). After the discovery of the true inflorescence of C. pontederiifolia, Jacobsen renamed the plant as C. sarawacensis. In 1978, Jacobsen and Bogner traveled Sarawak and they rediscovered C. ferruginea in the fresh water tidal area (Jacobsen 1980, 1990). The 'new' plants fit the 'old' ones. See for more details the rather long list on literature.

See the impressive SEM pictures of the inflorescence of  C. ferruginea by Ørgaard & Jacobsen on the Botanical page.

Updated December 1999

Literature.

Arends, J.C., Bastmeijer, J.D. & Jacobsen, N.,1982. Chromosome numbers and taxonomy in Cryptocoryne (Araceae).II. Nord.J.Bot. 2 : 453-463.
Bastmeijer, J.D., 1979. Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia. Info ZAG Wasserpflanzen 9/3 : 3-4.
Bogner, J.,1980. Tropische Wasserpflanzen am natürlichen Standort. Int.Waterplanten Symp. Ludwigia, Wageningen : 51-55.
Brown, N.E., 1880. On some new Aroideae. J.Linn.Soc.XVIII : 242-245, plate IV.
Ehrenberg, H., 1990. Positive und nagative Erfahrungen bei der emersen Haltung von Cryptocorynen. Aqua-Planta 4-90 : 143-146.
Engler, A., 1879. Cryptocoryne Fischer. Bull.Soc.Tosc.Ortic. 4 : 301-302.
Engler, A., 1882. Aracee della Malesia e della Papuasia raccolte da O.Beccari. in O.Beccari, Malesia 1 : 296-300, Abb. 27-28.
Engler, A., 1920. (Cryptocoryne, Lagenandra in) Das Pflanzenreich IV.23.F. Araceae - Aroideae : 232-249, Leipzig.
Graaf, A.de, 1980. Cryptocoryne ferruginea Engler of Cryptocoryne sarawacensis (Rataj) Jacobsen. Het Aquarium 50(11) : 299.
Horst, K., 1981. Sind die Cryptocorynen aus Borneo für Aquarien geeignet ? II. Aqua-Planta 4-81 : 87-91.
Horst, K., 1986. Pflanzen im Aquarium. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Jacobsen, N., 1977. Chromosome numbers and taxonomy in Cryptocoryne (Araceae). Bot.Notiser 130 : 71-87.
Jacobsen, N., 1980. Does Cryptocoryne ferruginea flower at full moon ? Aroideana Vol 3/4 : 111-116.
Jacobsen, N., 1982. Cryptocorynen. Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
Jacobsen, N., 1985. The Cryptocoryne (Araceae) of Borneo. Nord.J.Bot. 5 : 31-50.
Jacobsen, N., 1986. Deterioration of the habitats of the Cryptocoryne species. Symp.Bedreiging van het aquatisch milieu, Ludwigia, Wageningen : 33.
Jacobsen, N., 1990. Blüht Cryptocoryne ferruginea Engler bei Vollmond? Aqua-Planta 2-90 : 55-62.
Jacobsen, N., 1992. Die Kultur einiger schwieriger Cryptocoryne-Arten in Buchenlauberde. Aqua-Planta 1-92 : 18-25.
Kasselmann, C., 1995. Aquarienpflanzen. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Merrill, E.D., 1921. A Bibliographic Enumeration of Bornean Plants. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society : 106-109.
Mühlberg, H., 1980, Das grosse Buch der Wasserpflanzen. Dausien, Hanau.
Rataj, K., 1975. Revision of the genus Cryptocoryne Fischer. Studie CSAV, c.3.Praha.
Rataj, K. & Horeman, T.J., 1977. Aquarium Plants. TFH Publ, USA.
Sadilek, V., 1971. Neue Cryptocorynen VII : Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia Schott. DATZ 24 : 24-26.
Sadilek, V., 1981. Sind die malayischen Cryptocorynen Problempflanzen ? Aqua-Planta 3-81 : 76-78.
Schöpfel, H., 1967. Neue Erkenntnisse über die Verbreitung der Gattung Cryptocoryne Fischer. Aq.& Terr. 14(1) : 14-19.
Schöpfel, H., 1979. Zur Gliederung der Gattung cryptocoryne Schott (Araceae). Info ZAG Wasserpflanzen 1-79 : 5-8.
Schulze, J., 1967. Beobachtungen über Wasserpflanzen in einigen südostasiatischen Ländern I-IV. DATZ 20 : 211-215, 248-252, 279-282.
Schulze, J., 1971. Cryptocorynen aus Sarawak I-IV. DATZ 24 : 230-233, 267-270, 303-306,
Vlugt, P.J.van der, 1969. Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia (?). Het Aquarium 39(9) : 198-200.
Vlugt, P.J.van der, 1989. Einige Gedanken über das Blühen der Cryptocorynen. Aqua-Planta 1-89 : 22-26.
Wit, H.C.D.de, 1961. Het genus Cryptocoryne (16), Cryptocoryne ferruginea Engler, C. gomezii Schott, C. grabowskii Engler. Het Aquarium 31(9) : 212-214.
Wit, H.C.D.de, 1970. A key to the species of Cryptocoryne Fish.ex Wydl.(Araceae). Misc.papers LH Wageningen 6 : 257-280.
Wit, H.C.D.de, 1971. Aquarienpflanzen. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Wit, H.C.D.de, 1990. Aquarienpflanzen, 2. Auflage. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Ørgaard, M. & N. Jacobsen, 1998. SEM study of surface structures of the spathe in Cryptocoryne and Lagenandra (Araceae: Aroideae: Cryptocoryneae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 126 : 261-289.