Riccia Sp.

[zozo]

Recently i bought some java in the privat sector... Whn i came home i noticed some tiny piece of Riccia fluitans in it's roots, at least thats what i thought it was. I did put that tiny piece in my new tank, but now after several weeks i see it grows differently than Riccia fluitans does.. It's much thinner and longer, i've tried to find some more info about different Riccia sp., but regarding aquatic ones i keep running into the ordenairy fluitans which i already have in an other tank. I'm not totaly sure but i 80% sure this is not regular fluitans..

Does anybody know which Riccia sp. this little strain could belong to?? Or am i mistaken and is this another liverwort looking like Riccia??

 

[G H Nelson]

Hi Marcel
There is several different variants of Riccia!
Although there maybe more
Slender a Dwarf...plus a sinking Riccia, which maybe a type grown in moist emersed conditions!
Growing conditions will have a effect on how the Riccia looks...yours maybe just the run of the mill Asian or European after more light/Co2!
Cheers
hoggie

 

[zozo]

Hoggie Thanks.. Indeed i've seen that Riccia F. Dwarf passing by with googling a pic from a also ukaps member Vasteq..
The on in my pic is not realy a sinking type i did cut a little piece of to look. But it's definitely a different type than the other one i have.
The other one i have growing in a co2 tank and a non co2 tank, it doesn't realy change appearance and has a wider and more flat leaf.. The one in the pic above also grows non co2 same conditions. But clearly is different in growform and shape, is more round than flat and branches out much longer with a needle like leaf.

I know from other mosses that the same sp. can take rather different grow forms in different conditions. Which indeed is nowhere cataloged or recorded and who knows maybe identified as another sp.

I thought, even i didn't came across it there might be a list of cataloged Riccia sp. around and if some ukaps member would be the best chance to know it.

 

[Mick.Dk]

I've had that litle Bugger, too - usually show up in tanks, that have been contaminated with the somewhat darker coloured "sinking Riccia" (originating from standard Riccia fluitans)...so my personal belief is, that it is a kind of "transition form" going hack again to floating type.
(I have the "mini Riccia", too - and that's defenitely not it.)
- Bear in mind, that I can EASILY have gotten a contamination by another species/variety of Riccia, from some of the plants I receive for testing !!
(Stranger things have found their way to my test tanks in the past )

 

[zozo]

That's intresting.. Thanks mick, you might be right.. Did some more extensive digging myself.. Came across an Old dutch booklet (1951) study of liverwort in the Netherlands.. It contains a small list of found and studied Riccias, it seems all can have both forms, water as well as land form.

Riccia fluitans
Riccia rhenana (This one seems to be a confirmed sinker and dark green)
Riccia nigrella
Riccia canaliculata
Riccia ciliata
Riccia crystallina
Riccia baumgartneri
Riccia sorocarpa
Riccia beyrichiana
Riccia duplex
Riccia glauca
Riccia huebeneriana
Riccia huebeneriana var. natans
Riccia huebeneriana Lindenb. var. natans
Riccia angustior
Riccia Euriccia
Riccia decipiens
Riccia oelandica
Riccia bifurca
Riccia subbifurca

Ricciocarpus natans

I expected there to be more..
There probably are the tropicals are not discribed of course..
The dutch book if intrested
http://natuurtijdschriften.nl/download?type=document&docid=549480

Here is another nice read with some Riccia info i found, you (all) might like as well.
Found the name "Riccia Fluitans Sensu Lato var." whatever. Googled it and found
https://books.google.nl/books?id=uRFTK3T4WTUC&lpg=PA53&ots=QfcrmV6wtJ&dq=R. fluitans sensu lato&hl=nl&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=R. fluitans sensu lato&f=false

 

[zozo]

Did a quick read in the little dutch field guide and it seems that it's very difficult even for advanced bryonerds to distinguish these 4 Riccia var. in aquatic form

Riccia fluitans
Riccia rhenana
Riccia canaliculata
Riccia huebeneriana

So i guess if you buy Aquatic Riccia Fluitans the chances you get either one of those are very real. Only if growen on land they are somewhat correctly to be identified.
Now that's an Aha Moment!? Isn't it.. I guess thats how those sinkers (rhenana) land on the aquarium substrate. The difficulty in identification is probably the cause every lfs just sticks to the name Fluitans if they see aqautic riccia.. That's the easiest isn't it..

 

[Mick.Dk]

- and for hobby-use it doesn't really matter..........

 

[zozo]

- and for hobby-use it doesn't really matter..........

Sure, who knows what goes around comming from the backyard pond.. No pun intended, i always forget to mention when being a bit like, what could be interpreted as, cynical.. Sorry for that.

Btw intresting read that little booklet.. There seemed to be an North American bryologist (Miss Carter) who claimed to have growen R. Fluitans Broadleaf var. in her nurseries. These papers and sp. was send to Europe and the German and Dutch bryologist didn't agree and identified it as R. Rhenana.

Here an other read about fluitans and its identity largely debated for a long time.
http://abpa.ektf.hu/uploads/papers/finalpdf/ABPA_2_from115to124.pdf

Here is a realy nice one which could explain some intresting studies to people having trouble keeping Riccia alive or to propagate in their tanks.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3241965?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

It also says Riccia Duplex branches elongated rapidly in vegitative phase.. Could be an ID for the Riccia in the above picture..