Deeply lobed, fern-like leaves that run bronze to reddish-brown under stronger light — unlike any other stem plant in the hobby. It's also a rheophyte, so it can be planted in substrate or tied to wood and stone like an Anubias.
What You’ll Receive
Choose from a variety of planting formats to suit your layout:
- Small Bare-Root Plants: Includes 1 small rooted plant, perfect for attaching to driftwood, stones, or décor.
- Fresh-Cut Plants: Approximately 2–3 fresh-cut stems without roots for flexible planting arrangements.
- Fresh-Cut Bunched: 2–3 fresh-cut stems bundled with foam and a plant weight for quick placement.
- Fresh-Cut Potted: 2–3 fresh-cut stems securely potted in rockwool and a net pot for stability and continued growth.
Plant Profile
- Common name — Pinnatifida, Hygrophila Pinnatifida
- Scientific name — Hygrophila pinnatifida
- Origin — India
- Placement — Midground, planted or on hardscape
- Shipped size — 1 small rooted plant, or 2-3 fresh-cut stems roughly 2-4 in
- Mature height — 4–10 in
- Suits — 10 gallons and up
- Growth rate — Medium
Care
- Difficulty — Intermediate
- Light — Low to medium. It grows in low light; the bronze and red need stronger light
- CO₂ — Recommended, not required
- Water — 68–82°F · pH 6.0–7.5
- Substrate — Not required if attached to hardscape; nutrient substrate if planted
- Growth habit — Rheophyte. Plants in substrate or attaches to wood and stone
- Propagation — Cuttings and side shoots
Grower’s Notes
- It behaves like two different plants. Tied to wood or stone it creeps sideways and throws vertical shoots like an epiphyte. Planted in substrate it grows taller and greener. Decide which you want before you place it.
- Pinholes in older leaves mean potassium. This plant is unusually hungry for it and shows the deficiency before anything else in the tank does — treat it as an early warning for your dosing.
- Bronze and red develop under strong light with iron available. In low light it stays green and healthy — the color is a lighting response, not a health sign.
- It drops lower leaves as it lengthens. Cut the tops and replant them rather than waiting for the bare stems to fill back in.
- Also available as sterile Pinnatifida Vitro Culture, and as the compact 'UK' form.
Want to go deeper? Read our complete Hygrophila Pinnatifida Care Guide.
Notes
- Photos are for reference; leaf color, size and form vary considerably with lighting and nutrients. Grown emersed and will transition to submersed growth after planting.
- 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 these aquatic plants for arriving "healthy" and "pest-free" with fern-like leaves. Many noted "fast growth" and easy propagation. Plants were "well-packaged" with thermal insulation. Some experienced initial melting during adjustment. Customers recommend attaching to driftwood or rocks. Works well in low-tech setups without CO2, though high light brings out red coloration.
- Fern like leaves leave an impression. Clean no snails or algae.
- One of the nicest looking plants for sure.
- The plants seem to be adjusting well to my aquascape and I received a generous portion.
C
Fern like leaves leave and impression. Clean no snails or algae. Crypt. Lucens pictured. Quarter dollar for size reference.
t
The stems came in smaller than other plants but for a cheap price I got 4-6 stems that will grow fast and are easy to propagate. One of the nicest looking plants for sure.
J
plants arrived healthy and well rooted.
A
Fantastic look and adds great texture. The plants I received are healthy and pest free.
M
Like always received healthy, pest free plants. For some reason I was expecting this plant to be like a sword with a root base, a stalk, then leaves at top. What I got was more like a stem plant. It had roots along stem. Wasn't really sure how to plant it so just went for it. Ordered 2, received 3 but I think one could probably be divided into a 4th plant. Much smaller than i expected. Leaves are really neat and color is dense. Will be interesting to see how these progress as I think they are supposed to get large.
A
The hygrophila I received was full and healthy. I attached several stems to rock using aquarium glue & left the remaining stems loose in my tank to see how well they do. I’m hoping they will thrive because they look fantastic and serve as a great background plant for fish to hide in.
L
They arrived quickly, well insulated, and in great shape! That says something for Texas in July!
M
I was nervous about buying since I'd gotten a completely different plant when trying to order this from a different store, but this was gorgeous!
E
If you guys always provide selection and quality to these standards, I’ll never have a reason to shop anywhere else!
G
All the plants in my 55g tank are from Aquarium Plants Factory and as you can see, they've all grown SO much since I received them! (For reference, I don't use CO2 and they've still done extremely well!) And maybe I lucked out, but all the plants were/are snail free!
K
these arrived nice and three days later still look great
J
Very easy to plant and look great surrounded by my rocks! Great APF product
T
The beautiful plants are picture perfect. I could not be happier .Thank you so much.
M
Arrived quickly and healthy. Attached to some driftwood and vampire shrimp loving the coverage. Can't wait for the reds to start popping out.
E
It was well packed and arrived healthy and very pretty.
C
The plants arrived in great shape and packaged very well.
I was a bit bothered that they were cuttings instead of a rooted plant.
I am hoping they will take and root quickly in my tank.🤞🏻
L
This is a gorgeous plant with a fern like structure. It has been in the aquarium a week and I am already seeing growth and hints of red. It has a sturdy stalk and the fish love to swim inside its canopy.
J
They arrived very promtly, I believe there were 3-4 stems in the package. Leaves were all a very nice green and overall healthy looking.
The pinnitifida has acclimated well to my tanks and are still doing great over the past month, I've seen new growth on all of the stems and have even been able to take a propogation cutting on one of them.
Some of the new leaves on the plants closest to the light have gained a nice red coloration to the veins which adds a very nice contrast.
I do not run co2, but I do use both liquid ferts as well as a nutrient substrate, and am only using an LED shoplight rated for 1000 lumens on my 33 gallon long, so I would consider this to be an easy difficulty low tech plant.
If you are looking for an easy, great looking plant with an interesting leaf shape, defintiely consider picking up some hygrophila pinnatifida.
A
they looks very healthy.
C
They arrived a day early and were packaged well . Got the fresh cut potted plants. They looked very healthy and they look great in the 2 aquariums i put them in. Now just hoping that they take root w/o any problems.
a
Unfortunately they arrived five days late thanx t the carrier but thanx t the excellent packaging the plants seem okay. Got them in right away and fingers crossed.
A
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
J
So many offshoots looks so nice
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