Hydrophyllum canadense
L.
John's Cabbage, Bluntleaf waterleaf
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(c) thesoulflowers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
Hydrophyllum canadense is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.3 m (1ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4 and is not frost tender. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.
Edible Uses
Leaves - raw or cooked. A delicate potherb. Only use when young, the leaves become bitter with age. Root - cooked. Only eaten in times of scarcity.
Distribution
Eastern N. America - Vermont to New York, North Carolina, Ontario, Illinois and Kentucky.
Where It Grows
NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada (Québec (southwest), Ontario (south)), United States (Indiana, Massachusetts (Berkshire Co.), Michigan (south & central), New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont (Bennington Co.), West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri (east), Alabama, Delaware, Georgia (north), Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia)
Cultivation
Requires a moist humus-rich soil in semi-shade. Plants are growing well at Kew. Slugs are particularly fond of this plant and will soon destroy it if given a chance.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in early spring. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on 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 in spring or autumn. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
