Trapa natans
Water Chestnut
a perennial member of the Trapa genus in the family Trapaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
Uses
Toxicity
Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The raw seed contains toxins but that these are destroyed in the cooking process[7][8].
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - raw, cooked or dried and ground into a powder[6][10][4][11][14][15][16][2]. A sweet floury and agreeable flavour[9], similar to sweet chestnuts (Castanea spp)[5]. The seed contains up to 50% starch according to one report[12], 16% starch, 3% protein in another report[3] and 15% protein, 7.5% fat in a third[16]. (Are all these reports talking about the same thing?). One report says that the raw nut contains toxins that are destroyed by cooking the seed[7].
- Plant part
- Seed
Environment
- Range
- Europe to W. Asia and N. Africa.
- Habitat
- Water up to 60cm deep.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- aquatic
- Hardiness
- Zone 5+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - harvest in late summer and store overwinter in a jar of water in a cold but frost-free place. The seed quickly loses its vitality if it is allowed to become dry. Sow in spring, placing one seed in each pot and submerging them under a few centimetres of water.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
A water plant, growing in water up to 60cm deep. Requires a sunny position in slightly acidic water[7]. Dislikes calcium rich water[13]. Prefers a rich soil[13][14][7]. Plants are hardy in all but the coldest parts of Britain[1]. A perennial, but it is best grown as an annual in Britain[10]. Some botanists regard this species as the only genuine member of the genus, all other species considered to be no more than a part of this one highly polymorphic species[7]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, there is at least one named variety[1][10][4]. 'Su Zhou' is a form with red-coloured fruit[5].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969-00-00 ISBN 0192176218
Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984-00-00 ISBN 0802707699
Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975-00-00 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991-00-00 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975-00-00
Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00
? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00
Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982-00-00 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
Howes. F. N. Nuts. Faber 1948-00-00
Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00