Cryptocoryne lutea
Cryptocoryne walkeri 'Lutea'
Also known asCrypt lutea · Cryptocoryne lutea (synonym) · Cryptocoryne walkeri var. lutea
Water parameters
Light and nutrients
Substrate type: nutrient rich. Propagation: runners.
Substrate compatibility
| Substrate | pH effect | Nutrient load |
|---|---|---|
| Aquasoil (ADA Amazonia) | lowers pH | very high |
| Mineralized clay substrate (Seachem Fluorite) | neutral / inert | moderate |
| Dirted tank (mineralized topsoil) (DIY soil substrate) | slightly acidic | very high |
With fish
Origin and habitat
Native to central Sri Lanka, in shallow, slow streams and river margins. The plant long sold as Cryptocoryne lutea is, in current taxonomy, a form of Cryptocoryne walkeri (family Araceae): C. lutea Alston, described in 1931, is treated as a synonym of C. walkeri Schott, and the aquarium plant is also written C. walkeri 'Lutea' or var. lutea. It is a small-to-medium crypt with narrow, elongated leaves 10–15 cm long and 1–2 cm wide in warm yellow-green to olive shades; the name lutea means yellow and marks the golden-green colour that sets it apart from the browner C. wendtii and C. beckettii. The compact size and warm tone make it useful in the midground for contrast against darker greens. A long-standing trade plant, it is sometimes mislabelled simply as C. walkeri or confused with juvenile C. beckettii.
Care notes
Easy care, like other Sri Lankan crypts. It does well in low to moderate light with no CO2; too much light can trigger melt, while moderate light, around 30 to 50 PAR, brings out the warmest yellow-green colour and low light keeps it plain olive. Plant the crown at the substrate with roots buried, and feed at the roots, since crypts take up most nutrients there, so a nutrient-rich substrate or iron-bearing root tabs matter more than water-column dosing. CO2 is optional but speeds growth. Like all crypts it tends to melt when first planted or when parameters shift; trim away rot, hold the water steady, and new growth follows once it acclimates. Growth is moderate once settled, about a leaf every week or two, and it spreads by underground runners that bud daughter plants, so a group of five to seven knits into a midground patch over a few months. It pairs well with darker crypts like C. wendtii 'Brown' or C. beckettii for a varied Sri Lankan stream-margin look. It is an ornamental rosette, not a crop, so it is unsuited to media-bed aquaponics or hydroponics.