Purple Mini comes from the Lamandau region of Borneo and does what its name suggests — small leaves that read dark green and brownish above water, then develop blue and purple tones once they convert to submersed growth. At one to three inches it is a genuine nano Buce.
What You'll Receive
- One sealed 4-inch Vitro Culture® tissue culture bag
- Approximately 4 small plantlets grown in sterile nutrient gel
- 100% free from snails, algae, pesticides and pathogens
- Rinse the gel away and separate the plantlets before planting
Plant Profile
- Common name — Purple Mini Buce
- Scientific name — Bucephalandra sp. 'Purple Mini'
- Also known as — Buce, Bucep; tribe Schismatoglottideae, family Araceae
- Origin — Lamandau, Borneo, Indonesia
- Placement — Foreground, attached to hardscape
- Mature height — 1-3 inches
- Growth rate — Slow
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Low to medium
- CO₂ — Not required
- Water — 72-82°F, pH 6.0-7.5
- Substrate — None needed; tie or glue the rhizome to wood or rock
- Growth habit — Amphibious epiphyte, feeds from roots and water column
- Propagation — Rhizome division
Grower's Notes
- The purple only appears underwater. Emersed nursery growth is dark green to brown. Blue and purple develop on submersed leaves over the following weeks, so the bag will not look like the photo on arrival.
- Never bury the rhizome. Tie or glue the horizontal stem to wood or rock and leave it in open water. Buried, it rots — and at an inch of growth a year the loss is not recoverable in a season.
- Farm-raised, not wild-collected. All the Bucephalandra we carry is farm-grown, and much of it is raised from tissue culture rather than collected from Borneo.
- Small enough for a shrimp tank. At one to three inches this is among the smallest Buce we stock — it holds scale in a nano where a full-size variety would dominate.
- Keep the light low. Slow growth means algae settles before the plant can outgrow it, and strong light bleaches the purple toward green.
Prefer rooted plants? See standard Bucephalandra Purple Mini.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Bucephalandra Care Guide.
Notes
- Pictures are not the actual plants you will receive, but a sample representation. Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be free of pests, and pesticides, grow emerged or submerge.
- Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
At a glance
- Free shipping on orders of $150 or more (after discounts) within the contiguous United States, by USPS.
- Free thermal protection is included with every shipment, all year round.
- Processing: most orders leave us within 1 to 2 business days. Tracking is emailed when your order ships.
- USPS (2 to 5 business days) ships Monday through Saturday.
- UPS 2nd Day Air® ships Monday through Wednesday. Order by Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
- UPS Next Day Air® ships Monday through Thursday. Order by Wednesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time for same-week delivery.
- Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and military addresses ship by USPS at a flat rate shown at checkout.
- Weather holds: during extreme heat or cold we may hold live orders until it's safe to ship.
- We ship within the United States only.
Please bring live plants indoors and unpack them the day they arrive. Every live order is covered by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee.
The complete rules, including lost packages and address issues, are in our Shipping Policy. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.
Every live order is backed by our 24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee. If a plant arrives dead, we'll make it right.
How it works
- Tell us within 24 hours of the delivery time on your tracking.
- Send photos of the affected items in their original, unopened packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label, to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com with your order number.
- We'll make it right with a replacement, store credit or refund for the affected item.
Good to know
- Some melting or yellowing as plants adjust from greenhouse to aquarium life is normal. They regrow from healthy roots and rhizomes.
- Please bring your package indoors and unpack it the day it arrives.
- Free promotional items and shipping charges are not covered.
The complete rules, including what's covered and what voids the guarantee, are in our Returns, Refunds & Live Arrival Guarantee. If anything conflicts, that policy applies.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
Customers praised this tissue culture plant as "beautiful and colorful" with generous portions. The plant arrives healthy, ships fast, and offers excellent value. Reviewers noted it's "a strong grower" that develops into "fantastic clumps" over months. Ideal for collectors with proper environments, though some caution about transition care is advised.
- Beautiful and colorful. Has a good portion inside the tissue culture for the price.
- The tissue culture was densely packed with healthy buce. Grown steadily into fantastic clumps.
- You won't get this much TC Buce from anywhere else!
M
The tissue culture was densely packed with healthy buce. After months it has grown steadily into fantastic clumps.
B
Seems like it's healthy and it was a little more than I was expecting the 4 lower portions glued to the log
A
Beautiful and colorful. Has a good portion inside the tissue culture for the price. Highly recommended for Buce collectors who has the ideal environment for these rare plants.
M
Shipped fast and arrived healthy. Good price
D
These cups came in healthy and it didn't matter that they got tumbled around a bit in shipping. I received them in late April and kept them in indirect light until the beginning of June before
I submerged them. It's not good practice to do that with any TC, so be careful. The Lamdaus are a hardy line of Buce. This variety grows a tad quicker than some of the others like Red Kedang or
Mini Red, so this would be my choice to attach to rocks or start a mat.
I don't have a picture to go with the review, but part of the reason is, I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with all two cups of in my 20G long.
The clusters are either floating around or anchored between things in the tank. You won't get this much TC Buce from anywhere else!
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