Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

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

Oenanthe javanica

Common name:	Water Dropwort	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	(Blume.)DC.	Botanical references:	58, 200
Synonyms:	Oenanthe stolonifera (Wallich ex DC..)
Known Hazards:	Although no specific mention of toxicity has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus that contains a number of very poisonous plants and so some caution is advised[K]. It is said to contain the alleged 'psychotroph' myristicine[218].
Range:	E. Asia - Japan, Korea to Australia.
Habitat:	Ditches, ponds and wet places in lowland areas all over Japan[58].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	O. javanica ssp. stolonifera[P] O. javanica subsp. stolonifera[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ch'In Ts'Ai [E], Java Waterdropwort [P], K'U Chin [E], Shui Chin [E], Stolon Waterdropwort [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 10. It is in flower from June to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 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, Cultivated Beds, Ground Cover.

Cultivar 'Su Zhou': Pond, Bog Garden, Cultivated Beds, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Condiment Leaves Root Seed.

Young leaves and stems - raw or cooked[2, 46, 61, 105]. The leaves are also used as a seasoning in soups etc[179, 183]. The flavour is reminiscent of carrots or parsley[206]. The young shoots that sprout from the root in winter are best[116, 206]. A major vegetable in many parts of the Orient, the leaves are a rich source of vitamins and minerals (Analysis available)[218].
Root - cooked. Highly esteemed in Japan[116], the roots can grow up to 30cm long in water[183]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.
Seed is said to be edible[183].

Composition

Leaves (Dry weight): In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 0 Calories: 298 Protein: 19.9 Fat: 3.2 Carbohydrate: 62.8 Fibre: 12.8 Ash: 14.9
In milligrammes per 100g weight of food:
Calcium: 1202 Phosphorus: 585 Iron: 32 Sodium: 192 Potassium: 4713 VitaminA: 24 Thiamine: 0.64 Riboflavin: 2.34 Niacin: 10.6 VitaminC: 149

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Depurative Febrifuge Styptic.

The whole plant is depurative, febrifuge and styptic[147, 178]. A decoction is used in the treatment of epidemic influenza, fever and discomfort, jaundice, haematuria and metrorrhagia[147].
The seed contains 3.5% essential oil. This is effective at large dilutions against pathogenic fungi[218].

Other Uses

Essential Ground cover.

Spreading rapidly by means of suckers, it makes a good ground cover plant for wet situations. The variegated cultivar 'Flamingo' has been especially recommended[200].

Cultivation details

Requires a wet fertile soil or shallow water and a sunny position[200].
This plant is quite possibly not hardy in Britain, [200] gives a hardiness zone of 10, which means that it is not frost tolerant. However [58] says that it grows in all areas of lowland Japan and this should include areas that do experience frosts and snow. Another report says that many forms of this species are not frost-hardy, though some forms have hardy roots[206].
There is also a lot of confusion over the correct name for this species. Some reports give O. stolonifera. DC. or O. stolonifera. Wall as the correct name whilst other reports say that these names are synonyms of O. javanica. [200] says that O. stolonifera japonica. (Miq.)Maxim. is a synonym of O. javanica. It is quite possible that both O. javanica and O. stolonifera are valid names and the uses listed here belong partly to each species. More research is required.
This species is occasionally cultivated for its edible root[183] or for its edible leaves according to another report[179], there are some named varieties[183]. There are two main forms of this species, a red form has edible shoots whilst a white form is grown for its medicinal root[178]. In Japan this plant and six other herbs are customarily boiled in rice gruel on January 7th[183]. The cultivar 'Su Zhou' is medium early and has few fibres plus an excellent taste[183].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination is erratic[206]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring[206]. Large divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Layering[200].
Stem tip cuttings[200]. Any part of the stem roots easily[206].

Scent

: No details on scent.

Cultivars

'Su Zhou': A medium early cultivar, the root of which has few fibres and an excellent taste[183].
'Flamingo': A variegated form with leaves splashed and zoned pale pink, cream and white, it has been especially recommended as a good ground cover plant for wet situations[200].

Suppliers

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

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[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 Oenanthe javanica ssp. stolonifera (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Oenanthe javanica subsp. stolonifera (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Oenanthe stolonifera (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

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.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but 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.

[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.

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

[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.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[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.

[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.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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

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.