Round leaves held up like small umbrellas. Hydrocotyle verticillata attaches each leaf to its stalk at the centre rather than the edge, so the foliage stands upright on thin stems instead of trailing flat — a shape nothing else in a planted tank produces. It works submerged, floating, or around the edge of a pond.
What You'll Receive
- Sold as a bare-root plants, bunched plants, or potted plants
- Bare-root plants: Loose bare-root portion. Approx. 6 plants
- Bunched plants: rooted plants bundle with foam and plants weight
- Potted plants: rooted plants potted with rockwool
Plant Profile
- Common name — Umbrella Pennywort
- Scientific name — Hydrocotyle verticillata
- Also known as — Whorled Pennywort, Whorled Marshpennywort, Shield Pennywort
- Origin — The Americas
- Placement — Foreground to midground; also floats or grows pond-side
- Mature height — 4-8 inches
- Growth rate — Fast
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Medium to high. Weak light gives long bare stalks and few leaves
- CO₂ — Recommended
- Water — 72-82°F, pH 6.0-7.5
- Substrate — Roots into substrate or grows floating; feeds from roots and water column
- Growth habit — Amphibious; also grows emersed in moist soil
- Propagation — Runners; cut and replant sections
Grower's Notes
- Three habitats, one plant. It roots in an aquarium, floats on the surface, or grows around a pond margin in wet soil. Few plants let you move stock between a tank and a pond as conditions change.
- Leggy growth with bare stems means not enough light. Move it up in the tank or increase intensity rather than fertilising harder.
- Runners spread quickly and cross into neighbours. Trim at the substrate every few weeks to hold a boundary.
- Cuttings root from any node. Pin sections down with plant weights until they anchor.
- The upright leaf on a central stalk is the identifying feature — useful when telling this apart from the flat-creeping Hydrocotyle tripartita.
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.
Shipping Policy
At Aquarium Plants Factory, we carefully package and ship all orders to ensure plants and livestock arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Order Processing Time
Most orders are processed within 1–2 business days after payment is received.
Orders placed on weekends or holidays will be processed on the next business day.
Orders containing out-of-stock, pre-order, or backorder items may require additional handling time.
Once your order ships, tracking information will be sent to your email.
Shipping Schedule
Live Plants
Live plant orders ship Monday through Saturday when using United States Postal Service (USPS).
Most plant-only orders ship within 1–3 business days, excluding products that are out of stock, pre-order, or backorder.
Estimated USPS delivery time is 2–5 business days, depending on your location.
UPS Express Shipping
We offer the following UPS expedited shipping options:
UPS 2-Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 2 business days
Please note that UPS 2-Day Air® is not a guaranteed service in the event of carrier delays, weather disruptions, or operational issues.
UPS Next Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 1 business day
This service is guaranteed by UPS according to their service guarantee policies.
UPS expedited orders ship Monday through Wednesday only to ensure packages arrive within the same week and avoid weekend delays.
Please note that orders require 1–2 business days of handling time before shipment.
To help ensure same-week delivery, please place UPS orders on or before Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).
Live Animals Shipping
Live animal orders ship Monday through Wednesday only.
This schedule ensures animals arrive within the same week and do not remain in transit over the weekend.
Handling time for live animal orders typically ranges from 1–5 business days, depending on:
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Weather conditions
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Livestock health
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Shipping destination
Tracking information will be emailed once the order has been shipped.
Free Shipping
We offer Free Shipping on eligible orders over $150 within the contiguous United States.
Estimated delivery time for free shipping orders is 2–5 business days.
If your order contains both live plants and live animals, the shipment may be combined and the appropriate shipping rate will be shown at checkout.
Free Shipping is not available for customers located in:
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Alaska
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Hawaii
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Puerto Rico
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Guam
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U.S. Virgin Islands
Customers in these locations must select Expedited or Express shipping options at checkout.
Delivery Time Estimates
Delivery times shown at checkout are estimates provided by the shipping carrier.
While we work hard to ship orders quickly, delivery times may vary due to factors outside of our control, including:
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Weather conditions
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Carrier delays
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High shipping volumes
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Transportation disruptions
Aquarium Plants Factory is not responsible for shipping delays caused by the carrier.
Delayed or Lost Packages
Occasionally, shipments may take longer than expected.
A package is considered lost only after 15 business days (approximately 3 weeks) from the ship date.
If a package is confirmed lost by the carrier, we may offer a 50/50 replacement, meaning:
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Aquarium Plants Factory covers 50% of the replacement cost
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The customer covers 50% plus shipping
Address Accuracy
Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address when placing an order.
Please ensure that your address is correct when using payment methods such as:
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Credit / Debit Card
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PayPal
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Apple Pay
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Google Pay
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Amazon Pay
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Shopify Pay
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AliPay
Orders returned due to:
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Incorrect address
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Refused delivery
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Failed delivery attempts
may not be eligible for a refund.
Order Cancellations
If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as possible.
Orders can only be canceled before they have been shipped.
Once an order has been shipped, it can no longer be canceled.
Returns
Due to the sensitive nature of live goods, all sales are final.
We do not accept returns or exchanges for:
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Live plants
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Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
What We Guarantee
24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee — We guarantee that live plants and live aquatic animals will arrive alive. In the rare case of a Dead on Arrival (DOA), you must notify us within 24 hours of the delivery time recorded on the carrier's official tracking page. The guarantee is void after that 24-hour window, as condition can no longer be attributed to transit.
How to Submit a Claim
- Take at least 2 clear, well-lit photos of the affected items in their original, unopened, sealed packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label on the box.
- Email your photos and order number to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com within 24 hours of delivery.
- Do not photograph plants or animals after they have been unpacked, planted, or introduced to your aquarium — once an item enters your aquarium's ecosystem, it is no longer covered.
Approved claims are resolved with a replacement, store credit, or refund at our discretion, under the terms of our Refund Policy. Each item is eligible for one replacement only — replacements are final and we cannot replace a replacement.
Conditions That Void the Guarantee
- Incorrect or incomplete shipping address (vacant address, missing apartment number, or any issue that prevents delivery)
- Packages marked "invalid address," "undeliverable," refused, or returned to sender
- Packages left unclaimed, held at a carrier facility at the customer's request, or not retrieved promptly after delivery — live goods must be brought indoors and unpacked the day they arrive
- Carrier delays, weather events, or delivery exceptions once the package has left our facility
- Shipments to freight forwarders or package-forwarding services
Providing accurate, complete shipping information and monitoring your tracking are essential to keeping your guarantee valid.
Please note: the Live Arrival Guarantee covers arrival only. We cannot guarantee ongoing success — aquarium environment, water quality, nutrients, temperature, lighting, filtration, and CO2 all affect long-term results.
What We Can't Guarantee
- Pest-free plants (potted & bare-root): Although our plants are grown in our own clean greenhouse, we cannot guarantee they are 100% free of snails, algae, or other hitchhikers. We recommend rinsing and quarantining all plants before adding them to your aquarium. Tissue culture (in vitro) plants are the exception — they are grown in sterile lab conditions, are 100% free of pests, algae, and disease, and have never been in contact with any aquarium.
- Pesticide-free plants: We use homemade, organic pest control in our greenhouse and never use copper-based pesticides, which are toxic to invertebrates such as snails, crabs, and shrimp. However, we cannot guarantee plants are entirely pesticide-free — always rinse and quarantine before use in invertebrate tanks.
- Your aquarium's success: We are not responsible for your aquarium inhabitants, including fish, shrimp, snails, and turtles. Please quarantine all plants before use.
- Growth form: Unless specified, we do not guarantee plants will grow emersed or submersed in your particular setup.
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 these aquatic plants for arriving "healthy and green" with excellent packaging. Shoppers noted fast growth, with "new growth already" appearing within days. Plants arrive emersed and convert to submerged growth. Many received more stems than promised and described them as "bigger than expected." One shopper noted unusually tall growth.
- Big, hearty, gorgeous bunches. Absolutely blown away by the quality.
- Started sprouting several shorter ones OVERNIGHT! All the leaves look really healthy.
- Plants were very healthy and a LOT bigger than expected.
A
The plants arrived healthy and green. Plenty of stems, more than the 6 promised. It does appear to be grown emersed so will take time to convert to fully submerged growth in a tank.
k
I only got the bunch of these plants 2 days ago, and already there's some new growth that was not there at all when I put it in my tank.
Mostly it was a lot of long stems with a few leaves, mostly small and a few big leaves, with the roots still there. A really good amount of stems for the price, once they grow in, it ought to be very dense.
Happy with the purchase so far.
M
I’ve ordered quite a few plants, and I’ve bought plenty locally. I was fully expecting to receive a decent few bunches, some browning, mild damage, things I get every time I buy. I was absolutely blown away by the big, hearty, gorgeous bunches I received. All the plants I ordered came in flawless, but the pennywort just came so extra lovely. I’m so impressed, that I’ll definitely be buying from here again.
D
Beautiful plant I put throughout the entire scape. Arrived
Healthy. Like always from APF happy happy happy
T
Extremely happy with the plants! Hardy and healthy, great customer service!.
N
The emersed shoots came in very tall but after planting, started sprouting several shorter ones OVERNIGHT! All the leaves look really healthy.
R
Nice quantity, healthy looking, great packadging no damage
T
As described, excellent packing & fast shipping. The plants were very healthy and a LOT bigger than the same species of plants I’ve had in the past from other sources.
E
Love it
C
Great quality, well packaged plants, delivered quickly.
J
Arrived fast and in great shape. Very healthy looking
E
Nicely bunched and in great condition.
R
Super healthy plant up delivery. Not sure where its going permanently, so I just dropped it into my tank as it came with the plant anchor. Day 3 and new growth already!
S
1 month update: Whatever it is, it looks like hydrocotyle verticillata but the stems are about 1/8 inch thick and it grows 1-2inch big leaves that reach the top of my 22 inch deep aquarium. Definitely not the 1-3 inch tall plant I expected. It looks alright though, i guess. Like big dr seus umbrellas. lol
S
"one portion" wound up being like 10 individual rhizome sections with a big old emergent leaf on each.
The rhizomes were easy to plant, and the emergent leaves are not melting---they're pearling! All of the rhizomes have already grown new submerged leaves.
It looks super cool. One of my favorites and growing like a weed within 1 week.
T
Waited a week to see progress. Placed semi-emerged in my overflow, they are really taking off with new leaves from several different nodes
J
Added three of these to my Walstead style tank and they have completely taken off. They arrived in healthy condition with good looking roots and no browning. A couple of smaller stalks melted when first added but it is a new tank so that was to be expected. Literally just after a couple of days several new stalks had grown and so far three leaves have actually grown out of the water which adds a nice aesthetic. Would highly recommend.
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