WILD
FOODIES' HOME PAGE
PLANT PROFILE LIST
NAME: Water Chestnut
SPECIES / FAMILY: Trapa Natans / Trapaceae
OTHER COMMON NAME(S):
CONDITIONS: sun,
ponds & slow moving rivers
|
PARTS: |
EDIBLE |
TASTE |
RAW/COOK |
SEASON |
|
All |
|
|
|
|
|
Shoots |
|
|
|
|
|
Leaves |
||||
|
Stalk/Stem |
|
|
|
|
|
Buds |
||||
|
Flowers |
|
|
|
|
|
Fruits |
|
|
|
|
|
Pods |
|
|||
|
Seeds |
|
sweet/chestnut |
BOIL |
late Summer |
|
Nuts |
|
|
|
|
|
Roots |
|
|
|
|
|
Bark |
|
|
|
|
PORTION: small
COMMENT: Seed – boil, dry, and ground into a powder. One report says that the raw nut contains toxins that are destroyed by cooking the seed.(1) Shelled seeds (nuts) are also preserved in honey and sugar, candied, or ground into flour for bread and confections.(2)
CAUTION: “The raw seed contains toxins but that these are destroyed in the cooking process.” Boiling also minimizes exposure to heavy metals and other pollutants and prevents Fasciolopsiasis, a disease of aquatic plants. (1) …store seeds overwinter in a jar of water in a cold but frost-free place. The seed quickly loses its vitality if it is allowed to become dry. Sow in spring, placing one seed in each pot and submerging them under a few centimetres of water.(1)
NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:
LOOK-A-LIKES:
POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES:
OTHER USES: Used for phytoremediation – absorbs heavy metals and other pollutants
SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):