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Alisma plantago-aquatica
| Common name: |
Great Water Plantain |
Family: |
Alismataceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Alisma triviale (Pursh.), Alisma subcordatum (Raf.), Alisma parviflorum (Pursh.) |
| Known Hazards: |
The fresh leaves and roots are toxic but the toxic principal is destroyed by heat or by drying[13, 46]. |
| Range: |
Northern temperate regions of Europe, including Britain, Asia and America. |
| Habitat: |
Ditches, damp ground and shallow pond margins in water up to 15cm deep[13, 17, 24]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| A. brevipes[B,P]
A. plantago[]
A. plantago-aquatica ssp. brevipes[B,P]
A. plantago-aquatica ssp. subcordatum[B,P]
A. plantago-aquatica var. americanum[B,P]
A. plantago-aquatica var. brevipes[B,P]
A. plantago-aquatica var. parviflorum[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Alisma [E], American Water Plantain [P], American Water-plantain [B], American Waterplantain [P], Damasonium [E], European Water-plantain [B], Grote Waterweegbree [D], Northern Water Plantain [P], Northern Water-plantain [B], Water Plantain [H], Water-plantain [L], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
aquatica = in water;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Alismatales. Water-plantain family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
China; Egypt; Europe; Spain
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 0.9m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires wet soil and can grow in water.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Pond, Bog Garden.Edible Uses
Leaves; Root.
Root - cooked[13, 46, 61, 74]. Rich in starch[114]. Caution is advised,
the root is acrid if it is not dried or well cooked before use[2, 183].
Leaves and petioles - must be thoroughly cooked. They require long boiling
and have a salty flavour[105, 179].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antibacterial; Anticholesterolemic; Astringent; Contraceptive; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Hypoglycaemic; Hypotensive; Rubefacient.
The leaves are antibacterial, anticholesterolemic, diaphoretic,
diuretic, hypoglycaemic and hypotensive[4, 147, 176]. They are used in the
treatment of cystitis, dysentery, renal calculus, gravel etc[4]. The fresh
leaf is rubefacient[222]. It is used in the treatment of leprosy[218] and is
also applied locally to bruises and swellings[4].
Dried stem bases eaten, or grated and taken with water in treating digestive
disorders such as heartburn, cramps and stomach flu[257].
The powdered seed is an astringent, used in cases of bleeding[4]. The seed
is also said to promote sterility[218].
The root has a wide range of medicinal uses[176, 218]. It is antibacterial,
anticholesterolemic, diuretic and hypotensive[176]. It is said to lower blood
pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels[238] whilst it also has an
antibacterial action on Staphylococcus, Pneumococci and Mycobacterium[176].
The root is used in the treatment of oliguria, oedema, nephritis, acute
diarrhoea, cholesterolaemia and fatty liver[176]. It has been thought of as a
cure for rabies, though this has not been substantiated[4]. The whole plant
is believed to promote conception[218]. The root is harvested before the
plant comes into flower and is dried for later use[238].
A homeopathic remedy is obtained from the fresh root[4]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Succeeds in a sunny position in boggy ground or shallow water up to
25cm deep[200].
Plants often self-sow aggressively when in a suitable position[1, 56].
The subspecies A. plantago-maritima orientale. Sam. is the form used
medicinally in China[176].
The subspecies A. plantago-maritima parviflorum (Syn A. parviflorum, A.
subcordatum) is the form used medicinally in America[222].
Plants are very attractive to slugs[K].
Propagation
Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Place the pot
in about 3cm of water to keep the soil wet. Pot up the seedlings when large
enough to handle and keep in the cold frame for the first winter, planting
out in late spring.
Division in spring or autumn. Fairly easy, the divisions can be planted
straight out into their permanent positions.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Alisma subcordatum (a possible synonym).
References for Alisma triviale (a possible synonym).
References for the family Alismataceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[56] Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[114] Chakravarty. H. L. The Plant Wealth of Iraq.
It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq.
[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
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