Waterwheel Plant

Aldrovanda vesiculosa

General information: A free floating carnivorous plant that inhabits nutrient poor water. Traps are arranged in whorls around a central stem. The small traps snap shut on small invertebrates, even fish fry.

Cultivation notes : Best grown in peat softened water with CO2 pH control and grown among an emergent species such as Hygrophila angustifolia. Fertilise the emergent plant with dinosaur dung. Water best below 10ppm hardness and 10 ppm alkalinity. Adjust pH between 4.5 and 6 with CO2.

Distribution : Worlwide, in Australia found in NT, WA, Qld, NSW

Selling details : Sold in lots of 50 mm lengths that includs at least one growing tip.

Reference: Cowie, Short & Osterkamp Madsen ( 2000 ) “Floodplain Flora, a flora of the floodplain of the Northern Territory, Australia”.