Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii) care guide

Group
Plants
Other names
Nardoo, Ngardu, Common nardoo
Family
Marsileaceae (water clover family)
Origin
Australia, especially inland
Water
freshwater
Maximum size
20 cm
Temperature
18–28°C
pH
6–7.5
Hardness
2–15 dGH
Care level
beginner
Lighting
Low to medium light; CO2 not needed

Care

Nardoo is a common Australian water clover of quiet water and wetlands, rooted in mud in up to about 1 m of water. It appears in great numbers after floods, forming mats on the water and then carpets over the ground as the water drops. Its sporocarps can stay alive for about 50 years. Aboriginal Australians grind them into flour, but they contain thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1, so they must be properly treated before eating; poorly prepared nardoo contributed to the deaths of the Burke and Wills expedition. Water clovers are aquatic ferns, not true clovers. They creep by rhizomes and carry long-stalked leaves with four clover-like leaflets, which float in deep water, stand upright in shallow water or grow on land. They reproduce by tough, bean-like spore capsules (sporocarps) that can survive drying for decades. Our sources do not describe its aquarium use in detail. Water clovers in general make slow, undemanding foreground carpets: plant small portions of rhizome in the foreground and let them creep. Underwater, leaves often stay single-lobed and small; in more light they split into the familiar four leaflets. Water figures are our estimate, not from the sources. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsileadrummondii); Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsilea); Wikipedia, List of freshwater aquarium plant species. Checked October 2026.

Breeding

Divide the creeping rhizome into pieces with a few leaves and roots and replant them. Spores can be raised from sporocarps, which must be nicked or cracked and soaked to open.

Compatibility and tank mates

Low carpeting plant: shrimp and small fish are ideal companions. Digging fish (many cichlids, large loaches, goldfish) uproot it before it roots in, and bottom-sifters such as corydoras can disturb young clumps.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.

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