Cryptocoryne fusca de Wit

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Up to the 70's, plants of C. fusca were regarded to be C. longicauda. When the real identity of the latter was understood (see De Wit 1953, 1966, 1990), this plant should have a new name: C. fusca. photo Kebun Rasa Indonesia	These picture from the 50's is the real C. fusca, ('from Borneo') cultivated at Bogor Botanical Garden. photo Kebun Rasa Indonesia	After Tomey and Stam, Wongso made several collections in West Kalimantan. Note the long whitish spathe and the broad, slight bullate leaves. photo Wongso	Another collection by Wongso in West Kalimantan. This specimen has a more brownish limb of the spathe. photo Wongso
Cryptocoryne fusca in emersed culture. The outer side of the limb is rather pale. The spathe reaches up to 15 cm. Note that the plant is not so healthy, the leaves are a bit yellowish, probably due to malnutrification. photo Bastmeijer	The limb of the spathe in this specimen is not so twisted as is the plant at left. There are even inflorescences that don't have a twisted limb, the opening then is mere a vertical split. Note the transverse stripes on the leaves. photo Bastmeijer	C. fusca is not difficult to cultivate. The original plant in this pot made a couple of runners, flowering at the same time. Note the reverse twist in the limbs. This is often seen in Cryptocoryne. photo P. van Wijngaarden	A length cut of the spathe of C. fusca. The kettle and the tube are inside purplish colored. Be aware that this feature might not be constant! photo Bastmeijer
The inner surface of the limb is very warty. Though the surface structure of the inside tube is smooth, there is not a collar in the transition of the tube towards the limb. Note the 'hairs' on the outer surface of the limb. photo Bastmeijer	A very special feature of C. fusca are the hairs on the lower side and the margin of the leaves. They are ca 0.1 mm, so you'll have to use a magnificent glass. To see it, just fold a leave and look at the fold. This is also seen in C. ferruginea. photo Bastmeijer	The opened fruit of C. fusca. Imported plants may have fruits that will ripen in culture. The propagation of crypts by seed is not a fast way, for most plants make easily a lot of runners, but seeds are very useful to start a tissue culture. photo Bastmeijer	A length cut through the female flowers. Note the ovules in the opened part, which, after fertilization, will grow out to the seeds. photo Bastmeijer
It has to be acknowledged that Wim Tomey (NL), who traveled more than 30 years in SE Asia, brought very much information about crypts localities. He discovered C. fusca in the Mandor river in West Kalimantan (Indonesia). photo C.Stam	Drawing of C. fusca in de Wit (1990). Note the hairy leaves. This feature is seen in elder plants, especially on the lower side. drawing Ike Zewald	Drawing in de Wit (1990) of C. fusca syn. C. tortilis. Differences between these plants are within the variation seen in varuious collections. drawing Ike Zewald	The known distribution of C. fusca in West Kalimantan. The species is probably wide spread. Van Balgooy (Leiden University) discovered the species in the fresh water tidal zone south of Pontianak in the Panti Reserve. (Bastmeijer 1992/93).

Cryptocoryne fusca is a nice example of the difficulties in finding the right trail in taxonomy. When in the 50's, plants from Bogor Botanical Garden, were shipped to Wageningen University (NL), professor de Wit assumed that it was C. longicauda. With good reason, for the type material collected by Beccari was sterile and only a drawing of an unopened spathe exists. In the meantime, plants imported by Shirley aquatics (UK), proved to be new, and were described by de Wit as C. tortilis. Then the 'original' C. longicauda was found and thus the Bogor plant must have a new name: C. fusca. Later on, other botanists declared C. tortilis and C. fusca as the same species. One might think that the right name for the species then has to be C. tortilis, but that description was not valid because of the code, so the name must be Cryptocoryne fusca.
C. fusca is quite easy to cultivate in emersed culture. In the aquarium it is not an easy plant, but there are many examples of nice cultures.

Jan D.Bastmeijer, updated January 2002

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. & B.H.Bouwmeester. 1992. Cryptocoryne fusca De Wit. DATZ (12) 45 : 788-791.
Bastmeijer, J.D. 1993. Das Pflanzenportrat: Cryptocoryne fusca De Wit. Aqua-Planta 3-93 : 108-113.
Jacobsen, N. 1982. Cryptocorynen, Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
Jacobsen, N. 1985. The Cryptocoryne (Araceae) of Borneo. Nord.J.Bot. 5 : 31-50.
Kasselmann, C. 1995. Aquarienpflanzen. Ulmer, Stuttgart.
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Schulze, J. 1971. Cryptocorynen aus Sarawak I-IV. DATZ 24 : 230-233, 267-270, 303-306.
Stam, C. 1983. Sungei Mandor, rivier met ruim geschakeerde vispolulatie. Het Aquarium 53(10) : 248-249.
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Wendt, A. 1958. Die Gattung Cryptocoryne Fischer. Die Aquariumpflanzen in Wort und Bild (1952-1958), Stuttgart.
Wit, H.C.D.de. 1953. Cryptocoryne longicauda Beccari ex Engler. Het Aquarium 23(11) : 248-250.
Wit, H.C.D.de. 1953. Description and typification of Cryptocoryne longicauda Becari et Engler (Arac.). Webbia vol.IX, n.2 : 455-458.
Wit, H.C.D.de. 1958. Cryptocoryne longicauda. Fishkeeping, dec. 1958 : 710-711.
Wit, H.C.D.de. 1966. Aquariumplanten, 3e druk. Hollandia, Baarn.
Wit, H.C.D.de. 1990. Aquarienpflanzen, 2. Auflage. Ulmer, Stuttgart.