# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Cryptocoryne Club >  Flowers of my Cryptocoryne collection / field trip

## illumbomb

Hi All,

I decided to start a thread here to share some photographs of the flowers of my cryptocoryne collection / field trip. Hope you all will enjoy them.

Regards,
T S Wang

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## illumbomb

*C. sp 'Kota Tinggi'* - I like the crumpled surface of the limb, very elegant.

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## illumbomb

*C. nurii 'Mersing'* - one of my favorite flower having a heart shape, very romantic

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## illumbomb

*C. nurii 'Pahang'* - this variation has upright limb, unlike the previous whose limb is perpendicular to the tube

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## illumbomb

*C. longicauda 'Johor'*  - the limb has a concave hemispherical shape with a long tail

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## SCOPE

Nice collection! Bro, you are harvesting these or selling?

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## illumbomb

Hi Joe,

I am not harvesting and selling my cryptocorynes currently but if you are interested to be poisoned, I can introduce some contacts whom you can buy cryptcorynes from, just pm me for it.

Regards,
T S Wang

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## illumbomb

*C. pontederiifolia* - one of the hardiest and easiest to cultivate and flower with nice bright yellow limb

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## illumbomb

*C. affinis 'West Pahang'* - spirally twisted red limb erecting out of the water surface of a fast flowing stream

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. scurrilis 'Lingga - Yellow'* - collected specimen had an attached spathe which bloomed in my tank with a light golden yellow limb, in nature the colour is more intense

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. scurrilis 'Linggi - Yellow'* - a flower in its natural habitat, the golden yellow is much more intense

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## illumbomb

*C. griffithii 'Bintan'* - another collected spathe blooming in my tank

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. scurrilis 'Lingga'* - yet another collected specimen with spathe attached, should be a reddish form in the wild but I was not able to locate any blooming flowers at the collection locality to confirm

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. scurrilis 'Lingga - Red'* - the red variant in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. xpurpurea nothovar. purpurea 'Mersing Barat'* - a collected spathe blooming in my tank, it lacks the yellowish throat commonly seen in this species

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## illumbomb

*C. elliptica 'Perak'* - a blooming spathe in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. longicauda 'Bintan'* - this Bintan variant has less rounded limb compared to the ones from Johor

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## illumbomb

*C. griffithii 'Karimun'* - a blooming spathe in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. griffithii 'Thomson, Singapore'* - I found this while trekking around in Singapore

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## Vadim

thanks, magic plants!

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## illumbomb

Glad you like them.


*C. sp. 'Kota Tinggi'* - a flower in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Kota Tinggi'* - the colour of the cultivated flower is pale in comparison to those in the wild

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. nurii 'Bintan'* - collected spathes which bloomed in my tank, they are termed by some collectors as C. nurii due to the looks of the leaves (wavy edges with markings) but the flowers do not have the classical heart shape limb

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## illumbomb

*C. nurii 'West Pahang'* - a blooming spathe in the wild, the spathe is relatively much smaller as compared to the rest of the C. nurii found in other locations

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## illumbomb

*C. ferruginea 'Sungai Kerait'* - a newly flowered spathe, finally after more than 1 year of cultivatation

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. nurii 'Bintan'* - again, the cultivated spathe lacklustre and the limb rots easily, just 1 day after blooming

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## illumbomb

*C. keei 'West Kalimantan'* - the spathe in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. cordata 'West Kalimantan'* - in its natural habitat, but I am not able to identify which C. cordata variety this specimen belongs to

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## illumbomb

*C. fusca 'West Kalimantan'* - an unopened spathe in its natural habitat

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## Fei Miao

Absolutely amazing collection you have there, love the C. keei 'West Kalimantan' & C. cordata 'West Kalimantan'  :Well done:

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## illumbomb

Hi Ken, glad you liked them, I just upgraded from using N73 camera to Canon A480 (still a cheap camera though) before I went to Kalimantan, so the quality of the future photographs should be much better...


*C. cf. ferruginea 'West Kalimantan'* - the spathe in its natural habitat (I am using "cf." as I am not 100&#37; sure whether I identified the species correctly)

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## illumbomb

*C. pontederiifolia 'Singapore'* - an old photograph of the first wild spathe I found

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## illumbomb

*C. wendtii 'cultivated'* - an aquarium strain which I cultivated emersed in a flooded flower pot and it bloomed

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## betta_luRver

Bro, I just got some crypts(emmersed) from Teo's Aquatic Plant farm in Lim Chu Kang.. He gave me the soil he used to grow the plants in. I have just mixed it well with water, making it a "soupy concoction" and planted them in small pots acquired from a nursery in that area too. Will this work? Saw him growing them emmersed only on a tray in the open! But the spathe won't grow right? Didn't see any growing there...

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## illumbomb

Hi Fauzy,

If you bought those already grown in fully emersed form in open areas in Teo farm, you should be able to grow immediately them too in emersed form in an open environment (i.e. as opposed to in enclosed tanks). Which species did you bought, C. wendtii?

However, i suggest that you keep the substrate / soil moist (I presume the pots you bought are fully enclosed? Else you will have to water them regularly) as cryptocorynes are found in wet areas in the nature (i.e. either in or along the banks of streams / rivers / swamps). Also, better don't leave the pots in full sunlight immediately, keep them in a shady location. I faced some problems with growth of BGA on the soil surface when growing cryptocorynes in the above manner so be prepared for it...

It is possible that some of the old leaves melt away after planting but as long as you see new leaves growing out, it should be fine. Once the cryptocoryne is well established and growing well (aim to ensure this), it hopefully should reward you with a spathe. I can't really advise on the exact time duration required for formation of spathe as it ranges from a few months to more than a year based on my experience. Have fun!

Regards,
T S Wang

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## betta_luRver

Thanks for the reply! I got a few, one of it should be C.Nurii, red underleaf and bullated texture. Yup, enclosed pots! The substrate now is very muddy as the soil given to me was hard. They have all since wilted, all leaves are limp.  :Sad:  By the way, I am a fan of your blog! Would love to collect some specimens from local streams before they become "extinct" but not sure where to begin!

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## illumbomb

Hi Fauzy,

If you want to be safe, you can keep the pots in an enclosed tank first and slowly acclimatise them to lower humidity condition. If not, at least keep your pots slightly flooded will help too. 

Most of the cryptocorynes found in the wild in Singapore are in the areas designated as nature reserves under the Parks and Trees Act. Do bear in mind that you will risk getting fines / imprisonment or both if you are caught collecting any plants from such areas, unless you are very sure that the area is out of that gazetted as nature reserve or national parks.

Anyway, Singapore is doing rather well in protecting our last remaining forest areas. However, I frequently see clearing of forest for other land use in Malaysia and Indonesia. The cryptocorynes in those areas are facing more threats of extinction than in Singapore.

My explorer's friend's blog is much more interesting than mine as he goes for field trip every week and have found many specimens which I believed might be new. He found many new cryptocoryne locations during his latest trip to Lingga Island! Enjoy!

Regards,
T S Wang

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## betta_luRver

Ok.. Thanks for making me aware of it! Actually I am a keen follower of your blog and Mr Nakamoto's too..  :Smile:  I am currently making space to place "Five Plan" tanks underneath my arowana tank stand to have an enclosed emmersed setup like yours! So I'll be on my way then, thanks bro!

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## illumbomb

*C. cordata var. cordata 'Rompin, Pahang'* - spathe of C. cordata (should be var.cordata since it was found in Peninsula Malaysia?) in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga Island (location 14)' -* a collected spathe

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Singkep 3'* - I felt that the spathe looked like that of C. schulzei but my friend felt that the female flower looked like that of C. xtimahensis instead. Whichever it is, it proved that such species are more widely distributed that what we currently know (i.e. in Johor / Singapore).

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## illumbomb

*C. bullosa 'Pakan'* - The spathe had to be dug out in order for the entire spathe to be phtographed as the specimens are all deeply rooted with only the limb of the spathe sticking out of the substrate.


*C. bullosa 'Sungai Seblak'* - a well known location for C. bullosa

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga 6'* - a collected spathe, with light yellow folded limb covered with protuberances and with a reb collar

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga 11'* - a collected spathe, the limb is golden yellow in colour with reddish spots, it has a red collar too

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## illumbomb

*C. striolata 'Sungai Assan'* - an opened spathe in its natural habitat

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Singkep 6'* - a collected spathe bloomed, the shape of the spathe looked quite like that of C. griffithii but not the "hairy" limb

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga 17'* - A blooming collected spathe of yet another specimen from the fantastic Lingga Island

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## illumbomb

*C. keei 'Jambusan'* - a spathe in its natural habitat in Sarawak. The other habitat which I know of for C. keei is located at west Kalimantan.

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## illumbomb

*C. xpurpurea nothovar. purpurea 'Tasik Bera'* - a blooming cultivated spathe

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## SCOPE

never know that crypts can produce such impressive blooms....thanks for sharing!

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## juilian75

hi,

impressive. Brings back memories.

BTW do you have photos of the xtimahensis flower?

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## illumbomb

Nope, NParks rejected my application for permission to trek off designated path to reach the C. x timahensis natural habitat to take photographes of it.  :Razz:  Haha.

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## juilian75

Do you really need a permit to go off track?
why don't you just trek in without a permit?

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## illumbomb

According to item 1(j), straying off designated trail is prohibited. Item 2 stated that offenders would be liable to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both if convicted. Even if I did went in, I would not be able to publish anything over the forum / blog as that would be evidence. Therefore, its not worth it.

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## juilian75

Does this act also apply to Thomsons and Mandai areas? I thought i saw some C. griffithii and C. pontederiifolia in those areas.

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## bossteck

Hi illumbomb,

That's a shame, considering you're doing it for the purpose of educating the public. 
Did they cite any reason for the rejection?

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## illumbomb

NParks highlighted that they are currently conducting research at that site so they do not want their research to be disturbed. Also, they do not wish to attract unnecessary attention to the site via blog postings. I think their concerns are somewhat valid. Nevermind, there are still many sites left around South East Asia for me to visit.  :Razz:

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## illumbomb

> Does this act also apply to Thomsons and Mandai areas? I thought i saw some C. griffithii and C. pontederiifolia in those areas.


It is stated within the Parks and Trees Act that the restrictions are applicable to National Parks and National Reserves. And under the schedule of the Act, the T.S., Mukim and Lot numbers of the areas designated as National Parks and National Reserves are listed. 

Do a check using SLA's LandQuery free online service (switch to Lot View) and you should be able to determine whether the area which you saw the cryptocorynes are within or out of areas designated as National Parks and National Reserves. Thats all I understood from the Act.  :Razz:

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## bossteck

Sounds fair enough. Hope to see more updates from you soon  :Smile:

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## juggler

Very nice pictures of the Crypts. Thanks for sharing.  :Well done:

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga 22'* - we found this on the river banks close to C. sp 'Lingga 19 - platinum line'. Its leaves however did not had the 'platinum' vein and so we termed it as 'Lingga 22' first.

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Singkep 4'* - Do they looked comparable to C. schulzei from Johore?

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## Crypto Russia

Dear Tung Shu!
Thanks a lot for sharing, very useful tool to identify some of my plants. AND also it is a great pleasure to see so beautiful blossoming!!!

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## illumbomb

Glad you found the thread useful.


*C. striolata 'Sg. Assan'* - a blooming spathe of a cultivated specimen

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga 14'* - another spathe of a cultivated specimen

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## illumbomb

*C. sp 'Bukit Ibam Pahang, yellow Ring'* - I am not sure whether this is related to say C. cordata or is this something new...

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## yuwei24

they are so nice, do you think if I purchase from the contracts you mentioned, they are willing to ship to Shanghai?

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## illumbomb

Hi Yuwei,

If you order in bulk, it could be possible but I am not sure myself, why not you contact him directly? See here for the contact.

Regards,
T S Wang

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## illumbomb

*C. cf. striolata 'Gunung Besar, South Kalimantan'* - the limb opened too wide beyond the throat level

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Lingga Island'* - collected from various locations in the island, note the distinct colour variation

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## gaoyang8688

I want to buy cryptcorynes ,please pm me !

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## illumbomb

*C. nurii 'Pahang - white ring'* - a spathe of a collected specimen with a thin white line along the outer edge of the limb, in the wild the variation can be quite extreme like this as discovered by my explorer friend "http://cryptoandbetta.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-post_1500.html"

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Yellow Ring, Pahang Bukit Ibam'* - a spathe in the wild, note the tiny red spots on the raised collar

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## illumbomb

*C. zaidiana* - close up of the warty surface of the limb

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## illumbomb

*C. affinis 'West Pahang'* - the spathe providing a resting point for demselflies crossing the river

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## illumbomb

*C. nurii 'West Pahang' -* this is considered as C. nurii by many others probably due to the leaves having characteristics of C. nurii, however the miniature spathe is not exactly typical of C. nurii so what do you think?

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Pahang 8'* - the orange limb is distinctively different from the rest of the identified species in Malaysia Peninsula, I initially thought that it might be comparable to C. xpurpurea but my friend thought that it might be comparable to C. zukalii instead. Now I think it might be comparable to C. cordata.

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## illumbomb

*C. schulzei 'Panti, Johore'* - a blooming spathe in the wild

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## illumbomb

*C. cordata 'Sedili, Johore'* - a usual bright yellow blooming spathe in the wild

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## illumbomb

*C. pondeteriifolia 'Thomson Singapore'* - a blooming spathe in my metal tub pond

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Kota Tinggi, Johore'* - another cultivated spathe

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## illumbomb

*C. sp. 'Sumatra - Indragiri East 3'* - a collected spathe that bloomed in my friend's farm

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## illumbomb

*C cf. xpurpurea 'Malacca'* - a blooming spathe in the wild, notice the long limb

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## illumbomb

*C. schulzei 'Mersing, Johore'* - a blooming spathe in the wild

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## illumbomb

*C. lingua* - a cultivated spathe from Mr Teo's aquatic farm in Singapore

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## illumbomb

*C. moehlmannii - 'Aceh, Sumatra'* - a cultivated spathe

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## ryzcris

poison poison poison...........

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## keithtang

trying things out. How I wish I can grow them like that.....mission still unsuccessful😒

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## kreuzberg

Hi, very nice pics, are you still active in cultivating crypts, would be very keen to try! Thanks

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## illumbomb

Hi, yes I am still cultivating but my collection has reduced tremendously due to my poor cultivation skills.

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## kreuzberg

Hi, glad to hear that, would you have some advices, do's and don'ts ? Planning to try at small scale in semi humid tank with a plastic lid to retain humidity! What soil mix would you recommend?

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