Abstract
Few tropical plants are as well known as the genus Cryptocoryne (Araceae). It is aquatic to
amphibious, found throughout SE Asia, although each species usually has only a limited area of
distribution. Cryptocoryne grows in running water and each species is in growth and flowering
adapted to just those circumstances under which they grow. The habitats of the more than 50 known
species are mostly streams and rivers, 1-20 m wide with not too rapidly flowing water, in the lowland
forest. Few other aquatic plants have been able to adapt themselves to such habitats. The lowland
rain forests are usually the first ones to be cut in tropical SE Asia: they are the main sites for
settlements, for agricultural and horticultural activities, and the rivers are the primary water supply
for the people. In areas where the cutting of the forest is not total and so does not result in a total
washout of the rivers and where the pollution can be kept at a minimum, the rivers can survive - and
in many cases even be re-colonised, so that they may contain a variety of aquatic habitats - at the
same time serving as a supply of water.
Few tropical plants are as well known as the genus Cryptocoryne (Araceae). It is aquatic to
amphibious, found throughout SE Asia, although each species usually has only a limited area of
distribution. Cryptocoryne grows in running water and each species is in growth and flowering
adapted to just those circumstances under which they grow. The habitats of the more than 50 known
species are mostly streams and rivers, 1-20 m wide with not too rapidly flowing water, in the lowland
forest. Few other aquatic plants have been able to adapt themselves to such habitats. The lowland
rain forests are usually the first ones to be cut in tropical SE Asia: they are the main sites for
settlements, for agricultural and horticultural activities, and the rivers are the primary water supply
for the people. In areas where the cutting of the forest is not total and so does not result in a total
washout of the rivers and where the pollution can be kept at a minimum, the rivers can survive - and
in many cases even be re-colonised, so that they may contain a variety of aquatic habitats - at the
same time serving as a supply of water.