Echinodorus cordifolius

Native to North and Central America (Mexico through the southeastern United States), Echinodorus cordifolius grows in marshes and along river banks. Its broadly heart-shaped leaves are marbled with irregular white and pale-green variegation on a rich green background — a pattern that intensifies under good lighting. In the aquarium it grows into a large, imposing rosette up to 50 cm tall, best suited to spacious tanks. It tolerates a wide temperature range and adapts to hard or soft water with equal ease.