Marimo Moss Ball in Glass Jar

A very old, very slow, very round little plant — set up in a glass jar and ready to sit on your desk. Marimo (Aegagropila linnaei) are living balls of freshwater algae. They need no soil, no fertiliser and no fuss: cool water, soft light, and a water change every week or two. That's genuinely the whole job.

Each marimo comes in a clear glass jar with a glass lid and a layer of pebbles, with our marimo care card tucked in the box. Unwrap it, top up the water and it's done.

Quick facts

• Includes: 1 live marimo, glass jar with lid, blue glass pebbles, printed care card
• Species: Aegagropila linnaei — cultivated stock, hand-shaped
• Light: Low to moderate, indirect. Keep out of direct sun
• Water: Tap water is fine. Change every 1–2 weeks, more often in summer
• Temperature: Happiest below 25°C
• Feeding: None. They photosynthesise
• Growth: About 5 mm a year. In no hurry at all
• Lifespan: Well cared for, many decades

Why people love them

• Almost no work. For people who love plants but forget to water them — this one lives in the water.
• Made for small spaces. A desk, a bathroom shelf, a bedside table, a dorm room. Anywhere out of direct sun.
• A living gift that lasts. Not flowers that are gone in a week. Something that will still be quietly rolling along years from now.

The story they tell at Lake Akan

Wild marimo grow in only a handful of cold, clear lakes, most famously Lake Akan in Hokkaido, where the lake's slow currents turn them for years until they grow round on their own. Ours are cultivated and hand-shaped — wild marimo are protected — but they come with the same story.

Senato was the daughter of a chief. Manibe was a young man with no rank, no land, and nothing anyone in the village thought worth counting. They met at the water's edge one summer, and after that they kept meeting there. Her father found out, as fathers do, and he forbade it. So they chose the lake instead — walked down to it together one evening, and neither of them came back.

It is said their two spirits sank slowly through the cold green water, came to rest on the lake bed, and began to grow — round, and soft, and in no hurry whatsoever. The first marimo. They are still down there, turning gently in the current, side by side in the dark, refusing after all these years to be parted.

Care in four lines

Cool, fresh water. Swap the water every week or two. On a brutal Brisbane day, an hour in the fridge does them no harm at all.

Light — less is more. A softly lit shelf or a bench back from the window. Direct sun is the one real danger: it overheats them and bleaches them brown.

Roll us, squeeze us. At each water change, roll your marimo gently between clean hands under water, give it a soft squeeze like a sponge to push out any grit, and set it back down a different way up so every side gets some light.

If something looks off. The full care card in the box covers it — or send us a photo and we'll help.

FAQ

It's not perfectly round. Is that normal?
Yes. Every marimo is a little different, and slightly lumpy ones are completely healthy. Turning it at each water change helps it round out over time.

Can it go in my aquarium?
Yes — marimo are happy in a cool freshwater tank and are left alone by most community fish. Avoid goldfish and large cichlids, which may pick at them.