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Trapa Bicornis - Bat Nut Germination Log

  • Thread starter NemJones
  • Start date

NemJones

I Am the Terror Of the Night!
The Decades long search has finally been answered.

After atleast 12 years of searching, I found a source with Limited Trapa Bicornis Pods.
Advertised as LIVE/FRESH, This will be my second attempt at germinating these very unusual and hard to find seeds.

Arrival of Pods


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A...Mutated pod?
Growing deformed fruit/seed greatly worrys me.
I have a deep rooted fear that genetic deformities could be passed down to
the next generation of pods. Only time will tell at this point. Hopefully I can source more seeds overseas soon.

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Aquatic Immersion

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For Reference - Seeds are being kept in Water roughly 80 F, 2 foot T5H0 Fixture for starting period.
 
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Day 2

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Mutant Pod is displaying a small white nub.
IT looks as we may have the first germination.
 
Day 3


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At this point, the aquatic fuzz has made its expected, and unwelcome arrival.

The Mutated pod is Definitely growing at this point.

There is no sign of life from the "healthy" pod. No growth nubs,
no white shoot. This late in the game, it may not be a viable seed.
This is a very unexpected turn of events.





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The Nuts will be carefully scrubbed using a toothbrush, and placed back into a cleaned environment.
 
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Im excited for you Nem! Hopefully all goes well.
 
Day 4 - The green stem has Trippled in length overnight.


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An airstone has been added to improve oxygenation.


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Thats Not a tentacle, its a genticle! :ohno:

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Day 5

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Day 6

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Day 7


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Day 8

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Looks like things are going well.

I need to say thanks for posting. I've seen this plant before but never knew it's name. Now when the time comes to try to grow one, I've got it.
 
Looks like things are going well.

I need to say thanks for posting. I've seen this plant before but never knew it's name. Now when the time comes to try to grow one, I've got it.

Youre welcome. However, keep in mind these seeds are nearly impossible to find Alive.
Its taken me 12 years to find (a) viable one. Im hoping that I can produce more
and offer them in the future. Some people say their local Asian markets sometimes offer these
around moon festival, because theyre SE Asian aquatic nuts. (Its in october, others claim theyve seen them early December.)
My market always just gave me strange looks when I asked them.
 
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It's crazy how fast that seed has been growing. That's a lot of change in just a week. If only nepenthes grew so fast.
 
  • #10
It's crazy how fast that seed has been growing. That's a lot of change in just a week. If only nepenthes grew so fast.

Im really surprised by that too. I didnt expect it to move nearly as quick.
Various sites talk about it being a weedy invader, But the information is very unclear,
as they also talk about its Relative Trapa Natans taking over ponds and other bodies of water.
Its hard to tell which plant is which from the photos because everybody has it mislabeled.
Im pretty sure Bicornis is the one with the thicker, serrated leaves.


What really surprises me though is that I have friends in the Philippines and in asia that say they are also looking for it,
despite its weedy reputation.


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But from what Ive seen out of mine so far, its probably safe to assume its weedy stigma is true.
 
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  • #11
I've been finding conflicting information on whether this is an annual or perennial plant (my guess is it's an annual where there's frost and a perennial where it's warm), but either way, the fact that it can grow as an annual plant means that it has to be able to grow incredibly fast. I guess with the size of those seeds it can grow a lot without having to have light.
 
  • #12
Reminds me of L. sedioides.

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But thank you for posting photos of the sprouting seed, it's really very interesting! Please keep updating! :D
 
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  • #13
I've been finding conflicting information on whether this is an annual or perennial plant (my guess is it's an annual where there's frost and a perennial where it's warm), but either way, the fact that it can grow as an annual plant means that it has to be able to grow incredibly fast. I guess with the size of those seeds it can grow a lot without having to have light.

It makes me curious, These plants are mostly found in SE Asia, and they are labeled as an Annual. But In a tropical environment I wouldnt think there would be frosts that
kill them.


Reminds me of Ludwigia sedioides.

Im beginning to wonder.
When you type in "Trapa Bicornis" on Image search, you will get atleast 3 or 4 different plants. I cant tell if theyre
Mislabeled, Extremely Identical plants, or both. Im starting to think that the picture I posted above may actually be
a wild Mosaic plant. I thought the same thing when I originally saw the picture.





Trapa Natans, an extremely close Relative of T. Bicornis.


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Trapa Bicornis



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Both Natans and Bicornis have nearly identical leaf and stem patterns.
So it looks like those indeed may be wild Mosaics being mislabeled as Trapa
 
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  • #14
Day 9

I Wish I had taken photos earlier. The roots that are now draping over the woody seed coat
that morning were no longer than .1 CM

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Day 10 - November 16



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Now that this plant has stems, leaves, and a root system, Its time to add Substrate.
 
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  • #15
My initial reaction to this thread was that it probably wasn't for me but I admit to being fascinated with the progress of your seed. Besides, I love water chestnuts, a close relative. Nicely photographed!
 
  • #16
My initial reaction to this thread was that it probably wasn't for me but I admit to being fascinated with the progress of your seed. Besides, I love water chestnuts, a close relative. Nicely photographed!

Thanks Bluemax! I tried my best to keep as interesting as possible. Im honestly surprised myself at how many people
have commented and taken interest.



Night of Day 10

The Bicornis Nut is being moved to a separate holding tank while the aquarium substrate is prepared.


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Two main growth shoots are now observed forming from the primary growth Nodule.


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Today, I scoured the town going to each and every Home improvement store, Greenhouse,
and grow shop available. Not one had a bag of aquatic substrate, let alone any clue about soil for aquatic plants, or any advice whatsoever for that matter.
So were gonna wing it. This is purely Experimental at this point. Understanding that most aquatic plants Anchor themselves
to the bottom of their ponds and get nutrients from the rich detritus that settles, I will try to mimic this environment as close as
artificially possible.



To start, The 2.5 gallon tank is heated and sanitized.


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For Our Substrate Ritual, we will need atleast one sacrifice. Hopefully the fish and other crustaceans
included in the Foxfarm Ocean mix will cut it, along with giving it that aquatic decay of authenticity. 2/3 cup


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Next, 1 cup of Premium Earthworm castings are dumped into the cauldron, With a pinch of Kelp meal..

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Then added are 2 cups of pure Canadian Peatmoss, for thickness and dilution
to hopefully keep the roots from burning.


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What Ritual isnt complete without Blood of the innocent?


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..Bloodmeal That is.

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Finally, an inch deep layer of pure white calcium sand is added over the top of the
soil mixture. This will keep the peat and other buoyant materials from going waterborne,
and giving the roots something to grab onto. Added bonus of being Bone White, as this could possibly
reflect more light back to the plant. Both soil and sand is 1 inch in depth.


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The Bicornis Nut is re-introduced to its new environment.

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Unfortunately, after all this work, it appears this tank could be far too small for any long term plans.
The shoot is roughly 2 inches from reaching the air. (However, It was already this close without the added substrate, and water was added to compensate.)
The big question now is to either completely restart in the morning with the larger tank waiting in storage, or see
how the plant reacts to the enriched soil mixture first, and fight with the roots and repotting complications later.
Also being considered is the removal of heat pad from the bottom of the tank.
The Other nut has been removed, as I see there is now little hope, if any, of germination.
 
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  • #17
This is really exciting. Its growing so quickly!
 
  • #18
This thread is phenomenal. I can't believe how fast these grow.
If it was me I would move the plant to the larger tank right now. It will be easier and less stressful for the plant before it has rooted, and the plant also has a massive store of energy still sitting in that seed. Remember, that energy would usually be used to grow through up to 15 feet of water. The plant should have a lot still left. However, the more it grows, the less energy it will have stored, at least until it can recover what was lost. So it will be much better to move it now, when it will have more energy to recover from the stress of being moved.
 
  • #19
If it was me I would move the plant to the larger tank right now. It will be easier and less stressful for the plant before it has rooted

I 2nd this idea. ^

Also, maybe I missed it, but what happened to the other seeds? Did they not sprout or are they waiting still?
 
  • #20
Also, maybe I missed it, but what happened to the other seeds? Did they not sprout or are they waiting still?


The other Seed was removed 2 days ago. I felt after this amount of time,
it was a goner. Bubbles had been seen rising from the top hole a day ago after being submerged for
nearly a week. In my eyes a good sign of decay or bacterial growth. I removed it and set it into a separate container.
This evening, it was fizzing and spewing some sort of.. cloudy slime. RIP


Day 11
The stem has gone from completely straight, to bent.


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Morning of Day 12
The Stem has reached the Air.


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Lilly Pad like Fan Leaves

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Night of Day 12





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Take Note of how the roots are no longer laying like sphagetti noodles.
They are all standing up, making a small network of roots burying into the sand.
The plant is making preparations to lock down and dig into the sand.







If it was me I would move the plant to the larger tank right now. It will be easier and less stressful for the plant before it has rooted, and the plant also has a massive store of energy still sitting in that seed. Remember, that energy would usually be used to grow through up to 15 feet of water. The plant should have a lot still left. However, the more it grows, the less energy it will have stored, at least until it can recover what was lost. So it will be much better to move it now, when it will have more energy to recover from the stress of being moved.

I 2nd this idea. ^

Both of you are right. I wish I would have just Done it correctly from the start. I can tell this plant doesnt like to be messed with very much, as
Each time its moved, the roots brown slightly.
Unfortunately Tomorrow will be a race against time for me to clear a shelf and set up a 20 Gallon. (Which hopefully should be ample amounts of room)
Im really hoping that it wont upset this plant further and stress it, like schmiggle said. Now that the roots are digging in, Its going to be tricky moving
it without disturbing the roots, and the growing stems. It seems to make some pretty big growth jumps at night, and these stems are surprisingly long for being
in the 2 gallon terrarium. Moving this will be difficult.
 
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