🌿 Rice Paddy Herb Red Belem (Limnophila aromatica 'Red Belem')
Lance-Shaped Leaves in Rich Red-Purple Tones • Fragrant, Upright Stem Plant • A Colourful Thai Native
 
📋 Rice Paddy Herb Red Belem is a colourful selected form of Limnophila aromatica, a plant native to the rice paddies and wetlands of Southeast Asia, including Thailand. Its slender, lance-shaped leaves grow along upright stems in rich red-to-purple tones, with deeper purple undersides, creating a bold, warm accent that stands out beautifully against green plants. Planted in groups, it adds height, colour and structure to the midground and background.
It's a fragrant plant too: its leaves carry a light citrus scent when crushed, the same aromatic herb used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. Give it moderate to strong light and steady nutrients, with CO2 if you have it, for its deepest colour. A natural marsh plant, it also grows superbly above the water in paludariums.
It's a freshwater plant, suited to freshwater aquariums and paludariums.
 
💡 Highlights
❤️ Rich Red-Purple Colour: A bold, warm accent
🌿 Lance-Shaped Leaves: An elegant, upright look
🇹🇭 A Thai Native: From Southeast Asian rice paddies
🍋 Fragrant Leaves: A light citrus scent when crushed
🏝️ Paludarium Friendly: Grows above or below water