Bolbitis heteroclita is an aquatic

Aquatic plant

Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...

 fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

 species of Bolbitis

Bolbitis

Bolbitis is a genus of ferns in family Elaphoglossaceae.Two particular members of the genus are often grown as immersed water plants in aquaria, B. heudelotii, and B. heteroclita. B. heudelotii, the African water fern, normally grows submerged in its native habitat, while B...

, native to the Indochina

Indochina

The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...

 region of tropical Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

.

Cultivation

Bolbitis heteroclita is cultivated as an ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

 for aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

s and garden pond

Garden pond

A garden pond is a water feature constructed in a garden or designed landscape, normally for aesthetic purposes and/or to provide wildlife habitat.-Habitat:...

s. It is one of two species of Bolbitis that are popular for use as freshwater aquarium plants. However, it is exacting to grow this or Bolbitis heudelotii

Bolbitis heudelotii

Bolbitis heudelotii , also known as the African water fern, creeping fern, and congo fern. It is native to subtropical and tropical Africa, from Ethiopia west to Senegal; and down to northern South Africa in Southern Africa....

as a fully submersed plants.

This species, however, is easy to grow as a terrestrial or submerged (in ponds) potted plant. It is remarkable for the resemblance of the fronds of a certain size to poison ivy

Poison ivy

Toxicodendron radicans, better known as poison ivy , is a poisonous North American plant that is well known for its production of urushiol, a clear liquid compound found within the sap of the plant that causes an itching rash in most people who touch it...

 leaves. Some plant nurseries and growers sell this under the invalid former name Bolbitis asiatica.

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