Wrong Plant Or Not?

[Allen121]

Hi. I ordered 5 Pygmy Chain Sword from a seller on Ebay and received what looks to me a lot like 5 starts of Amazon Sword Plant, possibly a watermelon color variant (pic included). It was my understanding that "pygmy chain sword" is the common name for Dwarf Sagitaria, but even if that is not the case, they are still extremely similar plants in regard to size and the ability to grow them as a mid-ground carpet, and in any event look nothing like a full blown Amazon Sword, right? Here is an of the Ebay advert so you can see the he used and words he used to describe what he was offering, matching the top left in the second link IMO, but what he sent me (depicted on the right side of the 2nd link along with my glasses for size reference) looks nothing like what was descibed I don't think, yet the guy is arguing with me telling me I don't know one plant from the other, so is it me or is this guy simply refusing to accept that he sent the wrong plant??

 

[Demeter]

That looks far too large to by a chain sword. Honestly it looks more like an amazon sword that was grown emersed(based on the spoon shaped leafs). I'm not sure of chain swords can be grown above water like amazon swords, but maybe it's possibly what he says it is, just in its non-submerged growing state.

 

[Jocelyn Adelman]

Top left looks like vals/sag, bottom left sword... no idea what is there by the glasses...
I believe SeattleRoy grew chain swords, maybe he can provide more info.

Dwarf sag and chain swords are two different species for future reference

 

[SeattleRoy]

HI Allen121,

The plant in the picture with the glasses is definitely not a Pygmy Chain Sword; it is a member of the Helanthium (previously Echinodorus / Chain Sword) family but way, way too large for Pygmy Chain Sword / Helanthium tenellum (previously Echinodorus tenellus). You are right it looks like an Amazon Sword or variant thereof. Here are some pics of Helanthium tenellum.

Helanthium tenellum



10 gallon, low tech, low light (PAR@30)

 

[Mcasella]

That is a regular saggetaria, notice it doesn't have the crown of a sword and the leaf texture is not the same as a sword - it is similar to a val but the shape is of a sag, not a dwarf sag either. It is not the plant you were buying but it is also not a sword plant.

 

[Allen121]

Thanks guys. In the dude's advert on Ebay he listed it as Pygmy Chain Sword, and as many sellers do, listed a bunch of disjointed words along with it including the words "sag" and "dwarf" so I figured it was the same plant. Been a long time since I was up to speed on plant names, but I knew that even if not the same plant species they were very similar plants, so I would have been content with either, but could not get the guy to get off the fact that they were 2 different plants and get him to acknowledge that what he sent was neither of those two. I sent them back and am getting refunded in any event.