Family: Pteridaceae
Common name: Water fern, Water Sprite, Oriental water fern, Swamp fern, Water horn fern, Indian fern, Floating stag’s horn, Pod fern
Water ferns or Water sprites are very good aquatic plants that are usually grown in aquariums and can also be seen in the wild. They are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and can be found in ponds, marshes, swamps, small rivers, and other water bodies.
Plant characteristics
Water sprites grow to a height of 50-80 cm and has a fibrous, shallow root typical of aquatic plants, that helps anchor the plant during movement of water. These plants can also float in the water, their roots helping absorb nutrients necessary for the plant.
Stem of the Water sprite or water fern has rhizomes like normal land ferns – short, creeping, and horizontal running just beneath the surface of the soil. These rhizomes can produce small plants, thus forming small colonies very quickly.
Water sprites can grow rapidly with long fronds that are finely divided, giving the plant a delicate, feathery structure.
When the plants are rooted in the soil, the fronds grow from the roots in a rosette-like formation. But when they are floating in the water, the fronds form a dense mass of feathery leaves floating on the surface.
These finely divided and pinnately compound leaves give the fern a graceful lacy appearance, while protecting the leaves from tearing in water currents.
Leaves are light green in color, rarely with a reddish or yellowish tint. The fronds unfurl in typical fern fashion, emerging from tightly coiled structures that open outwards.
Like most ferns, Water sprites or water ferns do not produce flowers or fruits. They reproduces via spores that are found in specialized structures called sporangia found underneath the leaves.
The sporangia are grouped together into dark, elevated spots or stripes called sori that release the spores when the leaves mature.
Gardening tips
Water sprites are a popular choice for aquariums and small water bodies adding charm and elegance to it. They need god sunlight but they can also be grown indoors under fluorescent lighting. The water needs to be well-aerated with good oxygenation.
These plants cannot survive in strong water currents, and hence they need stagnant or very slow moving water. Providing extra carbon dioxide helps the plants grow quicker. When growing in aquariums, provide a nutrient-rich aquatic soil or fine gravel.
Provide enough space for the fronds to open up well, and also some space around the plant for new plants to grow from the rhizomes.
Remember to trim the plants when they become too big, lest they fill the aquarium and take up too much oxygen affecting the other living organisms in the aquarium.
Uses of Water Sprite
When grown in aquariums, these plants provide protection for small fishes to hide from the larger fishes. Water Sprites are loved for their versatility to adapt to various growing conditions.
The young fronds are cooked and eaten, and also eaten raw in salads. Parts of the plant are used in the treatment of cuts, wounds, bleeding, and skin irritations.
They are used as manure in rice fields. Since these plants grow very quickly, they provide shelter for small animals and fishes that grow in swamps and mangroves.
The shallow, fibrous roots hold the topsoil tightly, preventing soil erosion. Water sprites also have the ability to purify water in aquariums and ponds, while reducing the growth of harmful algae.
Propagation
Propagation is through spores and rhizomes.
Mature leaves can be dried and shaken in a paper bag or over a piece of paper to collect the spores, which can then the sowed in a moist, sterile medium to germinate.
Water Sprite rhizomes produce small plants that grow from them, which can then be separated from the parent plants and replanted.
Photographed at: Koonammavu, Kerala
