Bacopa monnieri (common name: Water hyssop, Brahmi)

Overview: Bacopa monnieri is a medicinal plant that is widely used as an Ayurvedic medicine, popularly known as Brahmi, named after Lord Brahma.  Bacopa monnieri is native to the marshy lands like banks of lakes, rivers, and bog lands of India, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam. This fairly undemanding aquatic plant is extremely popular among aquarists and can be used as a background or midground plant because of it’s ability to impart a perfect contrasting accent along with other aquatic plants.

Appearance: In it’s natural habitat, Bacopa monnieri grows in the form of creeping stems in dry season, and also produces whitish to pinkish flowers at the leaf nodes during the same time. However, in wet season, Bacopa monnieri can grow best in natural aquatic state. This non-aromatic herb plant has succulent, oblanceolate leaves that are oblong and about 4-6mm thick.

Hard/Soft plant: Hard plant

Ideal water temperature: Bacopa monnieri prefers tropical climate, therefore the ideal temperature for it’s optimum growth is between 21 and 28 degree Celsius.

Lighting conditions: Bacopa monnieri grows well when exposed to bright lighting levels (2 watts per gallon or more). In absence of adequate lighting, the bottom portion of the plant begins to decay.

Ideal pH conditions: Bacopa monnieri can tolerate slightly acidic to neutral water and prefers pH levels between 6 and 7.5.

Functions and advantages:

• Excellent choice as a background or midground plant in contrast with other plants in aquariums.
• It is widely used in the field of Ayurveda to treat multiple ailments like asthma, epilepsy, anemia, leprosy, ulcers, tumors, inflammations, gastroenteritis, etc.
• Bacopa monnieri or Brahmi is also known to be used as a brain and memory booster as earlier as 6^th Century A.D, and is still used in many health tonics and supplements for the same.

Did you know?

Propagation of Bacopa monnieri is easy and can be facilitated by cutting off stems and planting in substrate.