Banana Plant, Nymphoides aquatica

The Banana Plant (Nymphoides aquatica) is one of the most recognizable plants in the freshwater hobby, named for the cluster of thick, banana-shaped tubers that sit at its base. Those tubers act as a nutrient store, letting the plant push out round, lily-pad-like leaves on long petioles. Leaves start low in the tank and, as the plant settles in, reach upward and often float at the surface.

Care is genuinely easy, which makes this a good pick for beginners and low-tech tanks. It grows well under moderate light, does not require CO2, and grows at a slow to moderate pace. Set the tubers on top of the substrate or just barely into it — burying them fully will cause them to rot. Place it in the foreground or midground where the low rosette can be seen, and give it room, since surface leaves will shade whatever sits beneath them.