Amazon sword flower is budding

[Rampar]

Just spotted something new in my tank for the first time ever.

[Rampar]

Never seen anything like that before in my tank.

[jade]

The angelfish seems just as surprised as you are, Rampar.

[kokomo]

That's a great sign indeed.

When this happens, the plant expends a lot of energy, which is often drawn directly from the leaves.
This can be quite taxing for the plant, and in many cases, it's necessary to cut it back to prevent further stress.
I'd recommend cutting it as close to the base as possible.

I've had a similar experience with my Anubias Lynxa - it nearly didn't make it after trying to reach the surface.
Even now, six months later, its leaves are still quite wrinkled.

[Rampar]

I've come across similar instances with various plant types outside of aquariums too. I'll trim it soon. Generally, is it recommended to clip as soon as you notice it?

EDIT: I've had a couple Anubias that flowered in a small 5-gallon tank, and since they were already close to the surface, I left them be. This particular sword flower, being in a 20-gallon tank, probably didn't exert as much effort to reach the surface, in my opinion.