Practical
Plants

Eleocharis dulcis

Chinese Water Chestnut

a perennial member of the Eleocharis genus in the family Cyperaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Height
1 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Corm - raw or cooked[6][10][11][12][1]. A delicious taste, it is sweet and crisp when fully ripe and is starchy before that[2][4]. Widely used in Chinese cooking, especially in chop suey. A flour or starch can be made from the dried and ground up corm and this is used to thicken sauces and to give a crisp coating to various deep-fried foods[4]. The root is about 4cm in diameter[8], it contains about 36% starch[5]. A nutritional analysis is available[9]. The plant is used for making salt in Zimbabwe[4]. No more details.

Plant part
Root
Product or use
Salt

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The plant is used to treat a number of ailments including abdominal pain, amenorrhoea, hernia and liver problems[9]. The expressed juice of the tuber is bactericidal[9].

Product or use
Antibacterial
Product or use
Miscellany

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The leaf stems are used for weaving bags etc[5].

Product or use
Weaving

Environment

Range
E. Asia - China, Japan, to Australia.
Habitat
Marshy land and shallow water[7]. The edges of seasonal swamps in Australia[5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
aquatic
Hardiness
Zone 9+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Only just cover the seed and place the pot in 3cm of water to keep the soil wet. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division. Harvest the tubers at the end of the growing season, store them in a cool but frost-free place over the winter and plant them out in early spring.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A plant of marshes and shallow water, it prefers slightly acid soil conditions and a sunny position[7]. Requires a rich fertile soil[8]. Plants are not very frost hardy, the tubers should be harvested at the end of the growing season and stored in a cool damp but frost-free position until the spring[8]. The water chestnut is widely cultivated for its edible tubers in China, there are some named varieties[4][7]. It requires a 7 month frost-free growing season in order to produce a crop[2][3]. Plants perform best at temperatures between 30 - 35°c during the leafy stage of growth, and about 5°c lower when the tubers are being formed[8]. This species is unlikely to succeed outdoors in Britain, though by starting the plants off early in a greenhouse it might be possible to obtain reasonable yields in good summers[K].

References

  1. Haywood. V. H. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-217674-9

    ↩

  2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1986-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  3. Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984-00-00 ISBN 0802707699

    ↩

  4. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  5. Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-207-14383-8

    ↩1↩2↩3

  6. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩

  7. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3

  8. Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991-00-00 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  9. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2↩3

  10. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

  11. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

  12. Howes. F. N. Nuts. Faber 1948-00-00

    ↩

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