Trapa natans - Water Chestnut

Family:	Trapaceae
Habit:	Perennial
Width:	0.25
Synonyms:
Range:	Europe to W. Asia and N. Africa.

Trapa natans (Water Chestnut) is a Perennial and a width of 0.25m . It has a hardness rating of 5.
Water Chestnut will flower in December to January. The flowers from this plant are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and they are pollinated by

Soil Information

Water Chestnut will grow in light (sandy),medium (loamy),hard (clay) soil. It is not necessary for the soil to be well drained.
The soil prefers the following PH / acid levels :
- pH of less than 6, Acidic soils
- pH between 6 and 8, Neutral soils
Water Chestnut prefers soils

Ideal Planting Locations

Water Chestnut should not be planted in shady areas.

Water up to 60cm deep.

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Is a pond plant

Cultivation Details

A water plant, growing in water up to 60cm deep. Requires a sunny position in slightly acidic water[200]. Dislikes calcium rich water[50]. Prefers a rich soil[50, 56, 200]. Plants are hardy in all but the coldest parts of Britain[1]. A perennial, but it is best grown as an annual in Britain[3]. 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[200]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, there is at least one named variety[1, 3, 13]. 'Su Zhou' is a form with red-coloured fruit[183].

Edible Uses*

* See disclaimer
Edible Rating: 4/5
Seed - raw, cooked or dried and ground into a powder[2, 3, 13, 34, 56, 63, 74, 100]. A sweet floury and agreeable flavour[27], similar to sweet chestnuts (Castanea spp)[183]. The seed contains up to 50% starch according to one report[46], 16% starch, 3% protein in another report[117] and 15% protein, 7.5% fat in a third[74]. (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[200].

• Seed - includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicinal Uses*

* See disclaimer
Medicinal Rating: 0/5
None known

Propagation

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.

Known Hazards

The raw seed contains toxins but that these are destroyed in the cooking process[200, 206].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivars

'Su Zhou' - A form with red-coloured fruit[183].

References

Flora Europaea
?
Author: ?
Rating:
Publisher : An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
Date of Publication : 1964

The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Huxley. A.
Author: Huxley. A.
Rating:
Publisher : Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Date of Publication : 1992

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