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Potamogeton natans

Common name:	Broad-Leaved Pondweed	Family:	Potamogetonaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Potamogeton hibernicus ((Hagstr.)Druce.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Much of the northern hemisphere, including Britain.
Habitat:	Lakes, ponds and ditches, especially on a highly organic substratum, usually in water less than 1 metre deep[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Broad-leaved Pondweed [L], Djar Ennahar [E], Drijvend Fonteinkruid [D], Floating Pondweed [B,P], Floatingleaf Pondweed [L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	natans = floating;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Najadales. Pondweed family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Nc

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m at a fast rate. . It is in flower from May to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. 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 and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond.

Edible Uses

Root; Stem.

Root - raw or cooked[61, 85, 103]. A nutty flavour[74]. Starchy[105, 115].
Young branches that are produced from the rhizome[103]. No more details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Febrifuge; Resolvent.

The plant is febrifuge and resolvent[218].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A submerged aquatic plant that can be used as an oxygenator of ponds[1]. It is best given a loam based medium in full sun[200]. Succeeds in acid or calcareous conditions.
A fast growing plant in need of constant checking to make sure it does not overrun the pond[200].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus, the resulting progeny is usually sterile[200].
Fish like to spawn amongst this plant[74].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a pot that is standing in its own depth of water in a greenhouse as soon as the seed is ripe if this is possible. Stored seed is likely to have a short viability. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and increase the depth of water around the pot until the plants are covered by a few centimetres of water. Grow the plants on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter, increasing the depth of water as the plants grow larger. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in spring[56].
Cuttings of erect shoots in the growing season[56].

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.
[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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Potamogetonaceae.

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]).

[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.

[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.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[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.

[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.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[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.

Readers Comments

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

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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.