Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

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

Vallisneria americana

Common name:	Water Celery	Family:	Hydrocharitaceae
Author:	Michx.	Botanical references:	200, 204
Synonyms:	Vallisneria gigantea (Gaertn.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia. Eastern N. America - N. Dakota to S. Manitoba and Quebec.
Habitat:	Quiet waters[204]. Lakesand slow flowingstreams[274].
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.
	V. asiatica[B,P] V. neotropicalis[B,P] V. spiralis[B] V. spiralis auct. non[P] V. spiralis var. asiatica[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Eel-grass [B], American Eelgrass [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cana = grayed due to hairs;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Hydrocharitales. Tape-grass family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Water. The plant not is self-fertile. 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.

Young leaves - cooked[105, 177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A water plant for a large aquarium or for deep water outdoors[1], it prefers slightly acid conditions in a sunny position[200].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, though it should succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of the country[200].
A valuable water oxygenator[200].
The leaves can be up to 1 metre long[1].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Male flowers are produced below the surface of the water and females are produced on the surface. Fertilization takes place when male flowers break off the plant, float to the surface and fall into a slight depression formed by the female flowers on the surface of the water[274].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Lay the seed on the surface of a pot of soil and immerse this in water. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in water in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division of rooted runners in the growing season.

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

References for Vallisneria gigantea (a possible synonym).

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

References for the family Hydrocharitaceae.

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]).

[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.

[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.

[204] Livingstone. B. Flora of Canada National Museums of Canada 1978 ISBN 0-660-00025-3
In 4 volumes, it does not deal with plant uses but gives descriptions and habitats.

Readers Comments

Main Search Page

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

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.

Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Log In :: Privacy Policy :: Home :: Philosophy

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.