Abstract:
A plant anchor for securing a plant that includes a base member, having a top and bottom, and at least one support portion located within the base member and each support portion includes at least one opening for frictionally securing a plant. Preferably, there is more than one leg that is attached to the bottom of the base member. The base member as well as the legs can be in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There can be more than one support portion located on each base member. The optimal opening is two transverse, v-shaped slits. In an alternative embodiment, the base member has a top portion having at least one support portion having an opening for frictionally securing a plant and downwardly extending flange, a middle portion including having a sidewall, and a bottom portion with upwardly extending flange wherein the downwardly extending flange of the top portion removedly engages the sidewall of the middle portion and the upwardly extending flange of the middle portion removedly engages the sidewall of the middle portion.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/579,201, filed May 27, 2000, now abandoned, which claims priority to Provisional Application No. 60/141,959, filed Jul. 1, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Hobbyists have long desired aquatic scenery in aquariums as a desired effect for many years. This is to create a more natural environment for fish and tank inhabitants. However, aquatic scenery is extremely difficult to set-up and maintain. Plants are utilized in aquariums to accomplish a variety of functions. They provide a natural habitat for the fish, and, in addition, provide a means of protecting smaller fish in the aquarium from the larger fishes. The plants can utilize waste materials from fish and other animal life in the aquarium and in return provide oxygen and food for fish and the other organisms. 
     Although it has been long recognized that the presence of plants is a crucial aspect of any quality aquarium operation, the planting of an aquarium has heretofore been a very cumbersome and difficult task to carry out. Traditionally, aquariums have been planted by carefully covering the individual roots and lower stems of rooted plants. With non-rooted plants, even this approach has been of limited efficiency since, due to the absence of roots, the plants become easily loosened from the substrate, such as gravel and sand, and float to the aquarium surface. 
     It has been suggested that the best way in which both non-rooted and rooted plants may be securely planted is to weigh down the lower ends of the plants with small rocks or by wrapping lead strips to their stems. This is obviously cumbersome, inconvenient, and in the case of lead strips, toxic. Heretofore, lead strips have been commonly used due to the absence of satisfactory available alternatives. 
     A few rather complicated plant-holding devices do exist, but these devices do not fulfill the requirements of a live aquarium. U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,982, issued Jan. 5, 1999 to Wechsler, allows a variety of aquarium scenery to be secured to the bottom of an aquarium. However, this unit is expensive to manufacture and does not allow the use of an underground filter system that is widely used in the bottom of modern aquariums. An underground filter system pulls water through the underground filter through a lift tube and a water pump. Thus if the plant holding device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,982 is placed on top of a underground filter system then an undesirable depth of substrate, such as rock or sand, has to be used to cover over both devices, which would render the underground filter system useless. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,952, issued Feb. 16, 1971 to Bramante, is yet another device to hold aquarium scenery in place. As with U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,982, this device would seriously compromise the underground filter system which would require water to be pulled through the substrate and filtered. The base members of each variation of this device are flat, which blocks the flow of water. Also, there is too much substrate utilized to provide for the successful operation of an underground filter. 
     There have been other anchoring devices that have been patented, which include: U.S. Pat. No. 249,879, issued Oct. 10, 1978 to Willinger; U.S. Pat. No. 715,571, issued Dec. 9, 1902 to Gillinder; U.S. Pat. No. 2,155,811, issued Apr. 25, 1939; U.S. Pat. No. 2,486,932, issued Nov. 1, 1949 to Elliott; U.S. Pat. No. 2,639,552, issued May 26, 1953 to Tredup; U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,175, issued Apr. 12, 1966 to Klingberg; U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,743, issued Jan. 29, 1980 to Willinger; U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,625, issued Jul. 20, 1982 to Willinger; U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,596, issued Nov. 2, 1993 to Jones; and U.K. Pat. No. 2,021,371, issued May 30, 1978 to Willinger. These are only remotely similar to the present invention in that these devices vary from using rubber bands to secure plants to their devices, coiled springs to hold plant stems, and a flower pot plant holder. 
     The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of this invention, a plant anchor for securing a plant is disclosed. The plant anchor includes a base member and at least one support portion located within the base member and each support portion includes at least one opening for frictionally securing a plant. 
     In another aspect of this invention, a plant anchor for securing a plant is disclosed. This plant anchor includes a base member having a top portion having at least one support portion having an opening for frictionally securing a plant and downwardly extending sidewall, a middle portion having an upper flange portion and a lower flange portion, and a bottom portion with upwardly extending sidewall wherein said downwardly extending sidewall of said top portion removedly engages said upper flange of said middle portion and said lower flange portion of said middle portion removedly engages said upperwardly extending sidewall of said bottom portion, and at least one support portion located within said base member and each said support portion includes at least one opening for frictionally securing a plant. 
     In yet another aspect of this invention, a method for frictionally securing at least one plant is disclosed. The method includes securing the plant in at least one support portion located within a base member, having a top and bottom, with a plurality of legs attached to the bottom of the base member to allow use of a water filter without obstruction of water flow. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment of the plant anchor of the present invention utilizing a pair of slits; 
     FIG. 1A is a top view of a plant anchor of the present invention utilizing a unitary slit; 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the first preferred embodiment of the plant anchor, shown in FIG. 1, of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the plant anchor, shown in FIG. 1, of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of a first alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with a support portion located in the center of the base member; 
     FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a first alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 4, with a support portion located in the center of the base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 6 is a top view of a first alternative embodiment of the plant anchor without a support portion located in the center of the base member; 
     FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a first alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 6, without a support portion located in the center of the base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of a first alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 6, with a support portion located in the center of the base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 9 is an isolated top view of the support portion of the first alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5; 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of a second alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with a support portion located in the center of a triangular base member; 
     FIG. 11 is a bottom view of a second alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 10, with a support portion located in the center of the triangular base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 12 is a top view of a third alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with a support portion located in the center of a rectangular base member; 
     FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the third alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 12, with a support portion located in the center of the rectangular base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 14 is a top view of a fourth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with dual support portions located in the rectangular base member; 
     FIG. 15 is a bottom view of the fourth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 14, with dual support portions located in the rectangular base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 16 is a top view of a fifth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with three (3) support portions located in the rectangular base member; 
     FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the fifth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 16, with three (3) support portions located in the rectangular base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 18 is a top view of a sixth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with a support located in a hexagonal base member; 
     FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the sixth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 18, with a support portion located in the hexagonal base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 20 is a top view of a seventh alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with six (6) support portions located in a circular base member; 
     FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the seventh alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 20, with six (6) support portions located in the circular base member as well as legs; 
     FIG. 22 is a side view of a top portion of an eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with a downwardly extending sidewall forming a cap; 
     FIG. 23 is a top portion of the eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as show in FIG. 22; 
     FIG. 24 is an exploded side view of the top, middle and bottom portion of the eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor; 
     FIG. 25 is a top view of the middle portion of the eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 24 with perforated holes; 
     FIG. 26 is a side view of the top, middle and bottom portion of the eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor; 
     FIG. 27 is a bottom view of the bottom portion of the eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 26; 
     FIG. 28 is a side view of a top portion of an ninth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor with a downwardly extending sidewall forming a cap; 
     FIG. 29 is a top view of a top portion of the ninth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG.28; 
     FIG. 30 is an exploded side view of the top, middle and bottom portion of the ninth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor; 
     FIG. 31 is a top view of the middle portion of the ninth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 30 with a mesh screen; 
     FIG. 32 is a side view of the top, middle and bottom portion of the ninth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor; 
     FIG. 33 is a bottom view of the bottom portion of the ninth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 32; and 
     FIG. 34 is an alternative embodiment of a top portion of the eighth alternative embodiment of the plant anchor, as shown in FIG. 22, where there are five (5) support portions instead of a unitary support portion. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention. 
     Referring now to the drawings, and initially to FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 , which illustrate a plant anchor that is generally indicated by numeral  10 . The plant anchor  10  includes a base member  12  with a support portion  14  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  12  are three legs  16 ,  17  and  18  for providing support to the plant anchor  10 . The legs  16 ,  17  and  18 , respectively, may optionally be rectangular while the support portion  14  and base member  12  are preferably, but not necessarily circular. The support portion  14  is preferably, but not necessarily, includes a raised or elevated portion  13  that is connected to or is preferably an integral part of the base member  12 . The support portion  14  has an opening therein for supporting the plant (not shown). This opening can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening includes a first slit  22  that is transverse to a second slit  24  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. However, as shown in FIG. 1A, a single slit  25  can suffice. The preferred slit  22  or  24  is v-shaped to provide sufficient pliable friction without damaging the plant, however a mere slit in the form of a slice can be sufficient. The support portion  14  is preferably molded in conjunction with the base member  12  and elevated portion  13  as a unitary structure. Although the dimensions have tremendous flexibility, the optimal dimensions for the plant anchor  10  include a 2.54 centimeter (one (1) inch) diameter for the support portion  14 , a 3.175 centimeter (one and one-quarter (1.25) inch) diameter for the combination elevated portion  13  and support portion  14 , a 5.08 centimeter (two (2) inch) diameter for the base member  12 , with the leg members  16 ,  17  and  18  each having a length of 0.9525 centimeters (three-eighths (⅜) of an inch) and a height of 0.3175 centimeters (one-eighth (⅛) of an inch). The height of the entire plant anchor  10  is optimally 0.9525 centimeters (three-eighths (⅜) of an inch). 
     In the preferred embodiment, the plant anchor  10  is preferably made of soft, flexible thermoplastic elastomer such as a styrene block copolymer compound. The preferred manufacturing process is injection molding, however, vacuum forming or thermo forming will suffice. A preferred, but nonlimiting, example of a styrene block copolymer is DYNAFLEX® G7930-1001-00, which is manufactured GLS Corporation, Thermoplastic Elastomers Division, 833 Ridgeview Drive, McHenry, Ill. 60050. DYNAFLEX® G7930-1001-00 includes 2.5 to 38% by weight of Calcium Carbonate. Styrene block copolymers of this nature are highly colorable, have outstanding grip properties, can be clear, are easily molded and are ultrasoft. DYNAFLEX® G7930-1001-00 has a specific gravity of 1.05, mold shrinkage flow of 0.026-0.030, hardness of 30, 300% modulus of 240, tensile strength of 340, elongation of 612, tear strength of 85 and a compression set of 18/36. The preferred material has also been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Other materials can include polypropylene copolymers, however any material that can resist failure in the chemical environment of an aquarium will suffice, however the material in the support portion  14  must also be soft enough that it does not damage plants but yet provide enough pliable friction to hold the plants in a fixed position. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4-9, it is also possible to make the support portion out of different material than that of the base member with this first alternative embodiment generally indicated by numeral  27 . The plant anchor  27  includes a base member  29  with a support portion  31  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  29  are three legs  35 ,  36 , and  37  respectively for providing support to the plant anchor  27 . The legs  35 ,  36 , and  37 , the support portion  14  and the base member  12  are preferably, but not necessarily, circular. The support portion  31  is preferably, but not necessarily, includes a raised or elevated portion  33 , that has gripping holes  39 , and is connected to the base member  29 . The support portion  31  is made of material that supports the plant (not shown) and must simply be soft enough not to damage plants and yet still provide good pliable friction to secure the plants. The support portion  31  is preferably attached to the base member  29  by injection molding, however, attachment of the support portion  31  to the base member  29  can occur through the application of glue or heat. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, it is also possible to have a base member that is triangular with this second alternative embodiment generally indicated by numeral  41 . The plant anchor  41  includes a base member  43  with a support portion  45  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  43  are three legs  49 ,  50 , and  51  respectively for providing support to the plant anchor. The legs  49 ,  50 , and  51  and the support portion  45  are preferably, but not necessarily, circular. The support portion  45  is preferably similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, it is also possible to have a base member that is rectangular with this third alternative embodiment generally indicated by numeral  53 . The plant anchor  53  includes a base member  55  with a support portion  57  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  55  are four legs  59 ,  60 ,  61  and  62  respectively for providing support to the plant anchor. The legs  59 ,  60 ,  61  and  62  and the support portion  57  are preferably, but not necessarily, circular. The support portion  57  is preferably similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 14 and 15, it is also possible to have the rectangular base member of FIGS. 12 and 13 with two circular portions as a fourth alternative embodiment that is generally indicated by numeral  64 . The plant anchor  64  includes a base member  66  with a first support portion  68  and a second support portion  70  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  64  are four legs  73 ,  74 ,  75  and  76 , respectively, for providing support to the plant anchor. The legs  73 ,  74 ,  75  and  76  and the first and second support portion  68  and  70  are preferably, but not necessarily circular. The first support portion  68  and the second support portion  70  are preferably similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, it is also possible to have the rectangular base member of FIGS. 12 and 13 with three circular portions as a fifth alternative embodiment that is generally indicated by numeral  78 . The plant anchor  78  includes a base member  80  with a first support portion  82 , a second support portion  84  and a third support portion  86  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  80  are three legs  88 ,  89 , and  90 , respectively, for providing support to the plant anchor. The three legs  88 ,  89 , and  90  and the first, second and third support portions  82 ,  84  and  86  are preferably, but not necessarily, circular. The first support portion  82 , second support portion  84  and third support portion  84  are preferably similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 18 and 19, it is also possible to have a base member that is polygonal, e.g., hexagon, with this sixth alternative embodiment generally indicated by numeral  93 . The plant anchor  93  includes a base member  95  with a support portion  97  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  95  are six legs  99 ,  100 ,  101 ,  102 ,  103  and  104  respectively for providing support to the plant anchor. The six legs  99 ,  100 ,  101 ,  102 ,  103  and  104  and the support portion  97  are preferably, but not necessarily circular. The support portion  97  is preferably similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 20 and 21, it is also possible to have a circular base member with five circular support portions as a seventh alternative embodiment that is generally indicated by numeral  106 . The plant anchor  106  includes a circular base member  107  with a first support portion  108 , a second support portion  110 , a third support portion  112 , a fourth support portion  114  and a fifth support portion  116  for holding the plant in place. On the underside of the base member  107  are five legs  118 ,  119 ,  120 ,  121  and  122 , respectively, for providing support to the plant anchor  106 . The legs  118 ,  119 ,  120 ,  121  and  122  and the first, second, third, fourth and fifth support portions  108 ,  110 ,  112 ,  114  and  116 , respectively, are preferably, but not necessarily circular and similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     Therefore, the above embodiments should not be construed as limiting in any manner with the geometric shape of the base member as well as the number and geometric shape of the support portions and legs being virtually unlimited. 
     An eighth alternative embodiment is the use of material held in a container to provide support for the plant in addition to a pleasing aesthetic look. Referring now to FIGS. 22-27 and initially, to FIGS. 24 and 26, this embodiment of a plant anchor is generally indicated by numeral  125  with the support member generally indicated by numeral  126 . As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, there is a top portion  127  has an opening  129  therein for supporting the plant (not shown). This opening  129  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  129  includes a first slit  131  that is transverse to a second slit  133  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. This top portion  127  preferably, but not necessarily includes a downwardly extending sidewall  135 , e.g., circular, so that the support portion  127  thereby forming a cap. The optimal height of the top portion  127  is 0.635 centimeters (one-fourth (¼) of an inch) and the optimal diameter is 1.905 centimeters (three-fourths (¾) of an inch). The slits  131  and  133  are preferably v-shaped. The top portion  127  is preferably similar to support member  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 24 and 25, the middle portion for the support member  126  is generally indicated by numeral  137 . The middle portion  137  includes a first circular flange portion  139  that preferably, but not necessarily, fits within the downwardly extending sidewall  135 , e.g. circular, of the top portion  127 , however, the sidewall  135  could also fit around the outside of the first flange portion  139 , e.g. circular. From the circular flange portion  139 , the container has a middle portion  141 , e.g. frustoconical, which preferably projects outward towards the bottom. Once again, although this structure is preferred, it is not necessary. The middle portion  141  terminates in a second circular flange portion  143  that preferably, but not necessarily, has a larger diameter than the first circular flange portion. Located on the sides of the middle portion  141  are air holes  145  that preferably, but not necessarily, are 0.15875 centimeters (one-sixteenth ({fraction (1/16)}) of an inch). 
     Referring now to FIGS. 26 and 27, the bottom portion  147 , e.g. circular, has an upwardly extending sidewall  149 , as shown in FIG. 24, that securely fits around the second flange portion  143  of the middle portion  141 . However, the upwardly extending sidewall  149 , as shown in FIG. 24, could just as easily fit within the second flange portion  143  of the middle portion  141 . On the underside of the bottom portion  147  are three legs  151 ,  152  and  153  respectively for providing support to the plant anchor. The legs  151 ,  152  and  153  are preferably, but not necessarily rectangular. 
     A ninth alternative embodiment is the use of material held in a container to provide support for the plant in addition to a pleasing aesthetic look. Referring now to FIGS. 28-33 and initially, to FIGS. 30 and 32, this embodiment of a plant anchor is generally indicated by numeral  155  with the support member generally indicated by numeral  156 . As shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, there is a top portion  157  has an opening  159  therein for supporting the plant (not shown). This opening  159  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  159  includes a first slit  161  that is transverse to a second slit  163  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. This top portion  157  preferably, but not necessarily includes a downwardly extending sidewall  165 , e.g., circular, so that the support portion  157  thereby forming a cap. The optimal height of the top portion  157  is 0.635 centimeters (one-fourth (¼) of an inch) and the optimal diameter is 1.905 centimeters (three-fourths (¾) of an inch). The slits  161  and  163  are preferably v-shaped. The top portion  157  is preferably similar to support member  14  described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 30 and 31, the middle portion for the support member  156  is generally indicated by numeral  167 . The middle portion  167  has includes a first circular flange portion  169  that preferably, but not necessarily fits within the downwardly extending sidewall  165 , e.g. circular, of the top portion  157 , however, the sidewall  165  could also fit around the outside of the first flange portion  169 , e.g., circular. From the circular flange portion  169 , the container has a middle portion  171 , e.g. conical, which preferably projects outward towards the bottom. Once again, although this structure is preferred, it is not necessary. The middle portion  171  terminates in a second circular flange portion  173  that preferably, but not necessarily, has a larger diameter than the first circular flange portion. Located on the sides of the middle portion  171  is a mesh  175  that preferably, but not necessarily has openings of 0.15875 centimeters (one-sixteenth ({fraction (1/16)}) of an inch). 
     Referring now to FIGS. 32 and 33, the bottom portion  177 , e.g. circular, as an upwardly extending sidewall  179 , as shown in FIG. 30, that securely fits around the second flange portion  173  of the middle portion  171 . However, the upwardly extending sidewall  179 , as shown in FIG. 30, could just as easily fit within the second flange portion  173  of the middle portion  171 . On the underside of the bottom portion  177  are three legs  181 ,  182  and  183  respectively for providing support to the plant anchor. The legs  181 ,  182  and  183  are preferably, but not necessarily rectangular. 
     Another embodiment of the top portion  127  and  157  shown in FIGS. 22,  23 ,  28  and  29 , respectively includes support portion  185 , as shown in FIG. 34, includes five openings  187 ,  189 ,  191 ,  193  and  195 , respectively. Opening  187  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  187  includes a first slit  201  that is transverse to a second slit  202  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. Opening  189  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  189  includes a first slit  204  that is transverse to a second slit  205  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. Opening  191  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  191  includes a first slit  207  that is transverse to a second slit  208  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. Opening  193  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  193  includes a first slit  210  that is transverse to a second slit  211  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. Opening  195  can be of virtually any size or shape; however, the preferred opening  195  includes a first slit  213  that is transverse to a second slit  214  with the optimal relationship being perpendicular. All of the slits  201 ,  202 ,  204 ,  205 ,  207 ,  208 ,  210 ,  211 ,  213  and  214  are preferably v-shaped. The application can also be utilized in water gardens as well as aquariums. The five openings  187 ,  189 ,  191 ,  193  and  195  are preferably similar to support portion  14  described above. 
     The middle portions  141  and  171  house a planting medium for plants. Preferably, this includes some clay so that the planting material will not leave either the holes  145  or the mesh  175  and enter either the aquarium or the water garden. Pet litter is one source of this clay. Root starter for plants can be utilized to further develop the plants. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present invention is advantageously applicable in allowing plants to be held with pliable friction in a water-filled environment, e.g. aquarium or water gardens. However, a waterless environment may be utilized with this invention to provide vertical support for starter plants. This plant anchor  10  resists failure in the chemical environment of an aquarium will not damage plants and yet will hold the plants firmly in position. A significant advantage is that the legs  16 ,  17 ,  18 , as shown in FIG. 2, will allow the underground filter system in an aquarium to operate and function properly and not obstruct the flow of water. Another advantage is that the present invention is inexpensive to manufacture as well as purchase. Yet another advantage is that either a single plant can be held or multiple plants by the same plant anchor. 
     In addition, artificial plants can also be utilized with this plant anchor  10 . The associated shape and size of the plant anchor  10 , the base member  12 , support portion  14  and legs can infinitely vary with almost any permutation of geometric shape, size and configuration possible. The above advantages are only for the purposes of illustration and are not intended to limit the present invention as such. It will be recognizable, by those skilled in the art, that the present invention is suitable for a plurality of other applications. 
     In view of the foregoing, it is readily apparent that the subject support device in a very simple and effective manner allows the use of plants in aquariums and water gardens under conditions where chemicals and underwater filtration systems may be present. This allows the individual all the benefits of aquatic scenery including providing a habitat for fish, provide protective cover for smaller fish, remove waste materials and provide oxygen. 
     Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.