Heavy Root Feeders and Leaf Absorbers Plant List Compilation

I'm not sure if the title is appropriately labelled, but I will change it when I can think of something more...fitting.
Basically, I would like to compile a list of plants that either,
a) absorb nutrients primarily through their roots (substrate)
b) absorb nutrients primarily through their leaves (water column)

I believe plants such as Amazon Swords, Anubias, Bulb plants, and Crypts, tend to gather nutrients through their roots, so they're commonly known as Heavy Root Feeders.

Whereas, most stem plants tend to absorb nutrients through their leaves.

Now, I'm not totally good at identifying which plant does better with what, so that's why I'd like your help so we can compile a list, and I will update the list as we keep adding to the collective data. I hope this helps people so that they know how to effectively plant their tanks, and choose the right method to dose fertilizers (either by dosing liquids into the water column, or using root tabs, or doing a dirted tank, etc...)



(Last Edited: 1-4-2014 // 10:06pm)

Heavy Root Feeders

-=Absorbs through Substrate=-
- Swords (Could someone confirm if all types of swords are heavy root feeders? I know Amazon Swords are.)
- Cryptocoryne varieties
- Anubias varieties
- Vallisneria
- Saggitaria
- Bulb Plants (Aponogeton, Dwarf Lilly, Tiger Lotus, etc...)

-=Absorbs through Water Column=-
- Water Lettuce
- Frogbit
- Duckweed
- Azolla
- Red Root Floater


Heavy Leaf...Absorbers
- Hygrophilia varieties
- Elodea (Elodea Canadensis)
- Guppy Grass
- Rotala Indica
- Ludwigia Repens


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Notes
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- I will try to categorize these in a better way, once we have a better and longer list. I will also try to provide scientific names, next to their common names, to help keep confusion with other plants.
- DERP!

Water cabbage + water hyacinth(or however its spelled) root feeders / Floaters

Good topic! Once compiled I think this thread would help everyone decide what to put in their tanks and where.

Nice one Chiisai! I guess I should also make another category that are heavy root feeders that don't absorb their nutrients from the substrate...since...well, that would be impossible. LOL!!!

I'd love to see this topic get under way.

Where would ferns fall under these categories? Ferns can regenerate new growth from any part of the plant. A leaf alone can regenerate a whole plant. The rhizome will regenerate with all the roots cut off, and regenerate with all the leaves cut off. So, would this species fall under all categories?

Far as I know all Ludwigia species along with Rotala will regenerate being broke off at the root. So ALL species would fall under "heavy leaf feeders" ?





Exclaimer : theChad is no plant expert by any means. So, if incorrect please let me know for learning purposes

Ludwigia, being a stem plant, most likely means it absorbs most of the nutrients through their leaves. (don't quote me on that though).

As for ferns... I'm not sure. I thought that they absorbed through their roots.

Plants don't absorb through just one source, they just absorb primarily through their roots of leaves, so technically all plants can Fall in both categories, but that would make things a little confusing lol

Red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans) Floater
Heavy root feeder (needs high iron content though)


Blyxa aubertii (Bamboo plant)
Root feeder

Hi All,

I think this is a fine endeavor but here is one of the keys to whether a plant tends to be more of a foliar (leaf) or root feeder; the cuticle layer of the leaf.  If a plant has a thick cuticle layer, typically due to having to live emersed / exposed to the air for a portion of a year, the plant is most likely a root feeder due to a thicker cuticle layer; examples would be Cryptocorynes and Echinodorus (swordplant) species.  If a plant species is totally aquatic and lives year round submerged and dies if allowed to dry out it is more likely to be at least partially a foliar feeder; examples would be Ceratophyllum (hornwort) and various Blyxa species such as [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

Blyxa japonica with Cardinal Tetras
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

where would you place moneywort (Bacopa monnieri)

also a plant that will regenerate from cuttings but develop root like appendages at the base of the leaf.? when floating it will row up and out of the tank

Hi star_rider,

Plants typically are not one type only; (root feeder) or (foliar feeder).  Many plants that live both submerged and emersed can do both effectively and 'change' their source of nutrients depending upon the conditions.  For example, the cuticle layer of the leaf of the Bacopa when submerged would be very thin allowing it to absorb nutrients from the water column.  However when the leafs become emersed and grow in the air the cuticle layer becomes thicker and the nutrient absorption would be from the roots and/or submerged leaves.

That is why we sometimes see plants 'melt' when we take them home from the LFS.  Many of the plant farms in the US and Asia grow a lot of their plants emersed so they will grow faster.  Unfortunately that also causes the leaves to have thick cuticles.  When they take cuttings of these emersed stems, bunch them, and ship them to our LFS we can sometimes have problems and the stems suffer because the thick cuticles on the emersed grown leaves plants cannot absorb nutrients from the water column.  If the stems are strong enough they will quickly put out new growth with thin cuticle leaves which will help the stems to thrive.

Note the difference in the leaves of the same species between emersed verses submerged growth; the leaves are much thinner, finer, and longer when grown submerged.

Emersed Grown Pogostemon erectus
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Submerged Grown Pogostemon erectus (left side of tank)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Chiisai wrote:Red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans) Floater
Heavy root feeder (needs high iron content though)


Blyxa aubertii (Bamboo plant)
Root feeder

I feel that Phyllanthus fluitans doesn't need high iron. It's color is determined by light intensity .

hobbyorobsession wrote:

I feel that Phyllanthus fluitans doesn't need high iron. It's color is determined by light intensity .

I would be interested to see testamonials to that effect as everything I have heard or read says the DEEP red coloring is achieved by high iron content. But since this is not a plant I keep anymore I cant say either way for sure

hobbyorobsession wrote:
I feel that Phyllanthus fluitans doesn't need high iron. It's color is determined by light intensity .

I can probably 2nd this statement. My RED ROOT FLOATERS sit under high light and the roots stay a deep red if I use ferts or not.

I grow that plant in several tanks with varied lighting here is a quick picture that is a sampling from each light type [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is about the same amount of co2 in all the tanks but no other ferts.

Interestingly enough I have noticed that it's much easier to pull reds out of plants with LED lighting also. As I'm not dosing iron in the tanks and yet things will still go red. I didn't have much luck with that back when I was using T5s.

Yeah I feel that leds do something different to the plants. I don't understand fully what that is, be it intensity of the lighting or the way its not as diffuse as bulbs. I think its both a positive and a negative.

hobbyorobsession wrote:I grow that plant in several tanks with varied lighting here is a quick picture that is a sampling from each light type [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Awe man you got em to flower.... Mine come out like the 2nd bunch in your picture This is in a tank that's being converted to LED. The tank is 2/3rds LED now.