Aponogeton junceus

Schlechtend.

Waterblom-metjie

Aponogetonaceae Edible: Corms, Leaves, Flowers, Tubers, Root 102 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A small plant that keeps growing from year to year. It has a tuberous rhizome. The tubers are 3 cm across. This produces a few grass-like leaves. These are 10-12 cm long. The flower is on a slender stalk with a pair of spikes at the end. These are 1-2 cm long. The flowers are small, crowded, without stalks and white.

Edible Uses

The tubers are eaten as a snack. The corms, leaves, flowers, and roots are also edible.

Traditional Uses

The root is eaten as a snack.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in water in ponds and marshes. In Swaziland it grows in the lowveld.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe,

Notes

There are about 12-44 Aponogeton species. They are tropical and subtropical.

Synonyms

Aponogeton rehmannii (sensu Rodin) Aponogeton natalensis Oliv.Aponogeton spathaceus E. Mey. ex Hook. f. var. junceus (Lehm. ex Schltdl.) Hook. f.

References (8)

Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Pemberton, R.W., 2000, Waterblommetjie (Aponogeton distachys, Aponogetonaceae), a recently domesticated aquatic Food Crop in Cape South Africa with Unusual Origins. Economic Botany 54(2) pp 144-149
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 11
Rodin, 1985,
Romanowski, N., 2007, Edible Water Gardens. Hyland House. p 36

Show all 8 references

Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 28
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora (As Lehm.)
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179