Cryptocoryne waseri Kettner

Already known from 1990, Cryptocoryne waseri was long regarded as a deviant form of C. alba (Bastmeijer & Kettner, 1993). C. alba has been 'problematic' for a long time (Bastmeijer et al., 1984) because of the great variation in both the leaves and the spathe. But mainly by the rough limb of the spathe and the pronounced collar it is raised to the rank of a species (Bastmeijer et al., 2012).

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Cryptocoryne waseri growing in a dried out streambed near Yahalawatta.
coll. Waser 1990-5
photo Waser		 Imported plants from 1990.
coll. Waser 1990-5
photo Bastmeijer		 The plants flowered soon, cultivated in a slight acid mixture of sand and peat litter. Note the oblique limb and the long tail.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 578
photo Bastmeijer		 C. waseri multiplies quickly and flowers easily. However it is not an easy aquarium plant
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 578
photo Bastmeijer
       
C. waseri multiplies both by elongated runners and by plantlets just on the rhizome.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 1313
photo Bastmeijer		 C. waseri (left) compared with the two forms of C. alba: with greenish (middle) and brownish marbled leaves(right).
coll. Waser 1990-5/3, cult B 578, B 576
photo Bastmeijer		 Cultivated in rather acid beech tree litter soil. Note the very long tail of the spathe.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult. CK
photo Kettner		 Cultivated in sand with peat litter and with artificial fertilizer.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 578
photo Bastmeijer
       
Spathe of C. waseri with a more or less upright limb and tail.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 1301
photo Bastmeijer		 The limb of the spathe of C. waseri is rough and has a distinct raised collar.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 1301
photo Bastmeijer		 Longitudinal section of the sharp transition of the tube into the limb.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 578
photo Bastmeijer		 Lighting from behind shows again the clear collar.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 1313
 photo Bastmeijer
       
Longitudinal section of the spathe. Note the slight constricted kettle and the reddish colour inside.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 578
photo Bastmeijer		 Lower part of the spadix with the female flowers and in the inner circle the olfactory bodies.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 1313
photo Bastmeijer		 Top of the spadix with the male flowers and appendix.
coll. Waser 1990-5, cult B 1313
photo Bastmeijer		 Distribution of C. waseri in the South West rainforest of Sri Lanka where it grows together with C. alba.
       

Cultivating C. waseri is rather simple in either mineral soil or in beech leave mould. The plant had been in cultivation ever since its collection in 1990.

Updated May 2012

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., C. Christensen & N. Jacobsen, 1984, Cryptocoryne alba und ihre Variationsbreite, Aqua-Planta 1-84 : 18-22.
Bastmeijer, J.D. & C. Kettner, 1993, Die Cryptocorynen von Yahalawatta (Sri Lanka), Aqua-Planta 1-93 : 30-31.
Bastmeijer, J.D., P. Babics & C. Kettner, 2012. Eine neue Cryptocoryne-Art (Araceae) aus Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Aqua Planta 37(2): 50-59.
Graaf, A. de & Arends, J.C., 1986, The occurrence of Cryptocoryne and Lagenandra (Araceae) on Sri Lanka, Nord.J.Bot. 6 : 757-764.
Hermsen, E.P., 1977, Cryptocorynen, Het Aquarium 47(11) : 282-287.
Jacobsen, N., 1976, Notes on Cryptocoryne of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Bot.Notiser 129 : 179-190.
Jacobsen, N., 1977, Chromosome numbers and taxonomy in Cryptocoryne (Araceae), Bot.Notiser 130 : 71-87.
Jacobsen, N., 1982, Cryptocorynen, Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.
Jacobsen, N., 1987, Cryptocoryne, in: A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon, Vol. VI: 85-99.
Kasselmann, C., 1995, Aquarienpflanzen, Ulmer, Stuttgart.
Möhlmann, F., 1987, Der Weisse Wasserkelch, Aquarien Magazin 21(11) : 436-438.
Möhlmann, F., 1993, Die Cryptocoryne-Arten Ceylons (1), Aqua-Planta 4-93 : 123-128.
Wit, H.C.D. de, 1975, Cryptocoryne alba de Wit (nov.sp.) en Cryptocoryne bogneri de Wit (nov.sp.), Het Aquarium 45(12) : 326-327.
Wit, H.C.D. de, 1990, Aquarienpflanzen, 2. Auflage, Ulmer, Stuttgart.