Marsilea hirsuta

The Rough waterclover, Marsilea hirsuta, is a recommended, fairly undemanding ground cover in its underwater form. It is native to Australia and, like other waterclover species, is known there as "Nardoo". Like other Marsilea species, M. hirsuta is an amphibious fern in floodplains, swamps, banks, etc. in nature. Waterclover species form a carpet of long creeping, branched rhizomes. In the terrestrial form, "lucky clover" leaves with long petioles and four leaflets grow. Marsilea hirsuta is usually sold in this emersed form.
After some acclimatisation time, new shoots with much shorter submerged leaves grow in the aquarium, while the old emersed leaves slowly die off and can be cut off. The submerged leaves are usually undivided and roundish, like large Glossostigma leaves. Occasionally, two-, three- or four-part leaves of different heights also appear. The carpet gets about 2 to 10 cm high. Marsilea hirsuta spreads relatively quickly in the aquarium with its runners.

Marsilea hirsuta is a robust aquarium plant that makes no special demands on the water chemistry and can cope with relatively little light. However, it develops best with at least moderate light and a complete supply of nutrients, including via the substrate. The addition of CO₂ is not absolutely necessary, but it does promote growth.
After removing the rockwool, it is best to divide emersed potted plants into several pieces and place them in the substrate at some distance from each other. When rhizome shoots with submerged leaves develop, the old emersed leaves gradually die off and can be cut off. Tissue-cultured plants are also divided into several pieces and planted after washing off the culture medium.
Over time, the rhizomes creeping in the soil or above ground grow together to form a carpet. Occasional cutting prevents the carpet from becoming too thick and eventually detaching from the ground. Propagation is easy by cutting off pieces of rhizome and sticking them in the ground.

Particularly in Marsilea from in vitro (tissue culture) cups, new leaves have a brownish colour. They are by no means rotten.

Marsilea hirsuta has larger leaves than the Dwarf waterclover, Marsilea crenata, and is particularly recommended as a ground cover in larger aquaria. The medium and sometimes dark green carpet is accentuated by the reddish-brown colour of the young leaves. Its robustness and rather low light requirement make this Australian waterclover species a versatile foreground plant. As an emersed plant, its "lucky clover" leaves make it an attractive element in paludarium and wabi-kusa plantings.