Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Eleocharis dulcis

Common name:	Chinese Water Chestnut	Family:	Cyperaceae
Author:	(Burm.f.)Trin. ex Hensch.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Heliocharis tuberosa (Roxb.), Eleocharis tuberosa ((Roxb.)Schult.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan, to Australia.
Habitat:	Marshy land and shallow water[200]. The edges of seasonal swamps in Australia[193].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Andropogon dulcis[G] Scirpus tuberosus[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chinese Waterchestnut [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	dulcis = sweet
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Sedge family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	India

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 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

Root Salt.

Corm - raw or cooked[2, 46, 61, 63, 103]. A delicious taste, it is sweet and crisp when fully ripe and is starchy before that[116, 183]. 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[183]. The root is about 4cm in diameter[206], it contains about 36% starch[193]. A nutritional analysis is available[218].
The plant is used for making salt in Zimbabwe[183]. No more details.

Composition

Root (Dry weight): In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Calories: 360 Protein: 8 Fat: 1.2 Carbohydrate: 86 Fibre: 3.5 Ash: 5.5
In milligrammes per 100g weight of food:
Calcium: 22 Phosphorus: 350 Iron: 3.5 Sodium: 70 Potassium: 2450 VitaminA: 0 Thiamine: 0.4 Riboflavin: 0.5 Niacin: 5 VitaminC: 25
Source: [218]

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antibacterial Miscellany.

The plant is used to treat a number of ailments including abdominal pain, amenorrhoea, hernia and liver problems[218].
The expressed juice of the tuber is bactericidal[218].

Other Uses

Weaving.

The leaf stems are used for weaving bags etc[193].

Cultivation details

A plant of marshes and shallow water, it prefers slightly acid soil conditions and a sunny position[200]. Requires a rich fertile soil[206].
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[206].
The water chestnut is widely cultivated for its edible tubers in China, there are some named varieties[183, 200].
It requires a 7 month frost-free growing season in order to produce a crop[116, 117]. 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[206]. 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].

Propagation

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.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Eleocharis tuberosa (a possible synonym).

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Cyperaceae.

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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[63] Howes. F. N. Nuts. Faber 1948
Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.

[103] Haywood. V. H. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-217674-9
Very readable and well illustrated, it lists plants by families giving the basic diagnostic features and some details of plant uses.

[116] Brooklyn Botanic Garden Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1986
A small booklet packed with information.

[117] Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984 ISBN 0802707699
A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.

[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.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[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.

[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.

[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.

Readers Comments

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

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?Eleocharis+dulcis
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Eleocharis+dulcis

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

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.