Finger Grass

Growth form

Under water

Placement

Background

Light

High

CO₂

Helps

Growth

Medium

Difficulty

Medium

Height

Up to 40 cm

Limnophila aromatica, the rice paddy herb, is a tropical flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, where it flourishes in hot temperatures and grows most often in watery environments, particularly in flooded rice fields. It is called ngò ôm, ngò om, or ngổ in Vietnam and used as an herb and also cultivated for use as an aquarium plant. The plant was introduced to North America in the 1970s due to Vietnamese immigration following the Vietnam War. It is called "ma om" (ម្អម) in Khmer. It is used in traditional Cambodian soup dishes and Southern Vietnamese cuisine. It can grow in flooded rice paddies during wet season but it grows best on drained but still wet sandy soil of harvested rice paddies for a few months after the rainy season ends. It dies out soon after it flowers. Rural Cambodians often harvest them and put them on the roof of their houses to dry for later use.