# Bolbitis mini



## tiger15 (14 Dec 2019)

Can someone ID what Bolbitis species I have.  I bought it as a mini Bolbitis and there are apparently an African and Asian species, and both have the mini form.   I am not aware of the same genus of aquatic plants besides Bolbitis can be indigenous to two continents. In term of growth requirements, is there a difference between the two species, or between mini versus regular.


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## Mick.Dk (14 Dec 2019)

I'm pretty sure you are the proud owner of Bolbitis heudelotii. This african fern is relatively adaptable,  but differ quite much,  depending on which conditions it is growing in. There may well be some variation within species,  too. Yours look very much on the small end of scale, but still have nice,  broad leaf-plates. 
There are plants going around the hobby,  labelled 'mini'..........but I have yet to see one,  that significantly differ from standard,  when growing side by side.


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## dw1305 (14 Dec 2019)

Hi all, 





Mick.Dk said:


> but I have yet to see one, that significantly differ from standard, when growing side by side.


I've got one that looks like standard _Bolbitis heudelotii, _but stays about 1/4 of the size low tech. I think I got it from one of @frothhelmet, @hotweldfire or @a1matt, and I think it might have originated in the USA.

cheers Darrel


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## sparkyweasel (14 Dec 2019)

tiger15 said:


> . I am not aware of the same genus of aquatic plants besides Bolbitis can be indigenous to two continents.


Aponogeton, native to Africa and Asia.
Sagittaria, N and S America, Europe and Asia.
Eleocharis, N and S America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Probably others too.


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## tiger15 (14 Dec 2019)

Mick.Dk said:


> I'm pretty sure you are the proud owner of Bolbitis heudelotii. This african fern is relatively adaptable,  but differ quite much,  depending on which conditions it is growing in. There may well be some variation within species,  too. Yours look very much on the small end of scale, but still have nice,  broad leaf-plates.
> There are plants going around the hobby,  labelled 'mini'..........but I have yet to see one,  that significantly differ from standard,  when growing side by side.


According to the plant profiles below, mini Bolbitis heudelotii is from SE Asia, not Africa.

https://buceplant.com/products/mini-bolbitis-baby-leaf?utm_campaign=Buceletter 12/13/2019 (HGrMc9)&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Buce Plant Newsletter&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJoYXBsb2Nocm9taXNAaG90bWFpbC5jb20iLCAia2xfY29tcGFueV9pZCI6ICJMZ3EzcloifQ==&variant=28660448077

https://www.aquasabi.com/Bolbitis-heteroclita-difformis


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## Mick.Dk (14 Dec 2019)

I am very well aware of a Bolbitis 'mini'.This is Bolbitis heteroclita 'difformis'. A variety of a species,  coming from Asia - so not a Bolbitis heudelotii.
I have not been able to grow the Bolbitis heteroclita submersed for a longer time - but the 'difformis' variant seem to do. It is not as adabtable as Bolbitis heudelotii,  though,  and much slower growing.


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## Mick.Dk (14 Dec 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, I've got one that looks like standard _Bolbitis heudelotii, _but stays about 1/4 of the size low tech. I think I got it from one of @frothhelmet, @hotweldfire or @a1matt, and I think it might have originated in the USA.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Did you grow plants from other source side by side to this,  Darrel,  for comparison to exclude the smaller growth is just environmental related?


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## zozo (15 Dec 2019)

Mick.Dk said:


> smaller growth is just environmental related?


In my case it definitively is.. I used a cutting from a rather large and mature Bolbitis heudelotii, placed it in another tank at a somewhat deeper and more shaded spot it's in there for over 4 years now and it stays significantly smaller and grows much slower. It also stays about 1/4 the size from the mother plant it came from.


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## dw1305 (15 Dec 2019)

Hi all, 





Mick.Dk said:


> Did you grow plants from other source side by side to this, Darrel, for comparison to exclude the smaller growth is just environmental related?


Yes, I've got the standard _B. heudelotii,_ and another one that looks similar but remains much smaller. It forms a much denser tuft with shorter stipes.

I'm pretty sure it is a genetically smaller form, rather than just environmental conditions.

cheers Darrel


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## Mick.Dk (15 Dec 2019)

Hmm - this is where it becomes interesting,  then...... 
Smaller versions somehow seem to appeal to the aquatic hobby.


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## dw1305 (15 Dec 2019)

Hi all, 





Mick.Dk said:


> this is where it becomes interesting, then...... Smaller versions somehow seem to appeal to the aquatic hobby.


I'll get a photo tomorrow. If I go back through my PMs I should be able to find out who gave it to me, and whether they mentioned where it had come from originally.  Apparently I've got 734 messages, so it may take a while.

I'm leaning towards Gerard, @frothhelmet, and originally from the USA?

Success, from March 2014:





frothhelmet said:


> Got a couple varieties of bolbitis that seem to stay pretty small. One matured out from the gametophyte I had earlier. Want to try them?





dw1305 said:


> Got them yesterday, in very good condition. Interesting, exactly like B. _heudelotti _but about 1/2 the size.





frothhelmet said:


> The one with the jagged leaves emerged from the gametophyte I got from Living Waters. I forget the source of the other one.


cheers Darrel


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## tiger15 (16 Dec 2019)

Lot of info on Bolbitis, but my question is still not answered.  Do I have the African or Asian Bolbitis?  Picture is in Post 1.


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## dw1305 (16 Dec 2019)

Hi all,





tiger15 said:


> but my question is still not answered. Do I have the African or Asian Bolbitis





Mick.Dk said:


> I'm pretty sure you are the proud owner of Bolbitis heudelotii. This african fern is relatively adaptable....I am very well aware of a Bolbitis 'mini'.That is Bolbitis heteroclita 'difformis'. A variety of a species, coming from Asia - so not a Bolbitis heudelotii.


Your plant *is definitely the African *_*Bolbitis heudelotii*.
_
You can see it in the wild in this thread, <"New plant Zongo..">.





cheers Darrel


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## tiger15 (16 Dec 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,Your plant *is definitely the African *_*Bolbitis heudelotii*.
> _
> You can see it in the wild in this thread, <"New plant Zongo..">.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the confirmation and the link to the beautiful pic in its natural habitat.  I had the regular African Bolbitis before, but it did not make it.  The mini Bolbitis is adapting well and spreading.  The mini is not only smaller, but the texture also feels softer like down feather.  The mini and regular _heudelotii are as different as two species.  What confused me is the linked profiles described mini heudelotti mistakenly as an Asian species._


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## dw1305 (16 Dec 2019)

Hi all,





tiger15 said:


> the link to the beautiful pic in its natural habitat.


That is an amazing thread. Have a look at <"lake Fwa"> as well. 





tiger15 said:


> I had the regular African Bolbitis before, but it did not make it.


That is a shame, it is a really good plant low tech.





tiger15 said:


> What confused me is the linked profiles described mini heudelotti _mistakenly _as an Asian species.


I think the mini Bolbitis they had in mind was the _Bolbitis heteroclita_ 'difformis'  the one that @Mick.Dk mentions.





Mick.Dk said:


> I am very well aware of a Bolbitis 'mini'.This is Bolbitis heteroclita 'difformis'.


 I still have a plant of the regular <"_Bolbitis heteroclita_"> in a bottle garden, it has been in there, totally neglected, for ~10 years.

The bit I put in the tank turned up it toes pretty quickly. I also didn't have any joy with <"_Crepidomanes auriculatum_">.

cheers Darrel


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## dw1305 (19 Dec 2019)

Hi all, 





dw1305 said:


> Yes, I've got the standard _B. heudelotii,_ and another one that looks similar but remains much smaller. It forms a much denser tuft with shorter stipes. I'm pretty sure it is a genetically smaller form, rather than just environmental conditions.





dw1305 said:


> I'll get a photo


Here it is.

To try and get a sense of scale, I've scanned a small bit of "normal form" above it as well. 





This was how big the normal leaved version had grown before I broke it up.




cheers Darrel


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## Hufsa (12 May 2022)

As a newly (and extremely happy) owner of the two kinds of Bolbitis mentioned in @dw1305 's post, I thought it would be appropriate to ask @frothhelmet in this thread if he could shed any more light on the difference and origin of the two smaller forms.
Im really keen to establish the differences if any between the two, as I would like to spread them to hobbyists in my country but would prefer not to "make up new labels" for the two to tell them apart.
To be clear this post has nothing to do with the species sold as Bolbitis difformis / baby leaf  etc.

Number 1


> The one with the jagged leaves emerged from the gametophyte I got from Living Waters.



Number 2


> I forget the source of the other one.



@frothhelmet , you wouldnt happen to have any pictures or be able to describe the jagged leaves?
Is there a chance one of them originated in the USA?
There seems to be a Bolbitis in the USA traded under the name "Small form".

One of the smaller varieties have been circulated around by Darrel and is being sold here on the forum as Bolbitis heudelotii Compact.
Do we know if this is Number 1 or Number 2, and if it is truly the same as the one called Compact?
From my research so far Compact is quite a lot more common in Poland and the surrounding countries, traded between hobbyists. All of them describe it as smaller than the regular version.
Ive been able to compile quite a few pictures of their Compact that I hope to use as comparison once my two specimens mature.


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