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Callitriche palustris

Common name:	Common Waterwort	Family:	Callitrichaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 50
Synonyms:	Callitriche verna (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Most of Europe, but extinct in Britain, most of N. America and Asia.
Habitat:	Springheads, rills, quiet waters and wet shores in northern N. America[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. palustris var. verna[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Klein Sterrenkroos [D], Vernal Water-starwort [B], Vernal Waterstarwort [P], Water-starwort [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	palustris = in bogs;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Callitrichales. Water-starwort family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial. . The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Water. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 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 can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Plant - boiled and seasoned[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A water plant, it should be allowed to root into the soil at the bottom of the pond or be grown in a pot in the pond.
This species is an excellent oxygenator of the water and a good food source for fish[1, 200]. It provides a good habitat for wildlife in the pond, the leaves holding spawn well[1].
This species belongs to one of only two known dicot genera where pollination taks place under water[274].
Plants remain active all winter.

Propagation

Seed - we have no details on this species but would suggest that the seed will be best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in about 5cm of water. It is quite likely that the seed has a short viability, especially if it is allowed to become dry. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in trays of water in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings can be taken at any time in the growing season. They root easily, even if just placed in a pot of water.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Callitrichaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[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]).

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Callitriche+palustris
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Callitriche+palustris

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.