Aponogeton distachyos or ''Aponogeton distachyum'', also known as waterblommetjie (''lit. trans.'' water-floret), Cape-pondweed, water hawthorn, vleikos and Cape pond weed is an aquatic flowering plant.

Origin

Native to South Africa's

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

and

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

provinces, but introduced elsewhere in quiet ponds in warm temperate to subtropical climates in winter rainfall areas. It grows in ponds and

vlei A vlei () is a shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent nature. It even might refer to seasonal ponds or marshy patches where frogs and similar marsh dwellers breed. Commonly, vleis vary in their extent, or even in the presence ...

s which dry up in summer, becoming dormant in the dry summer and growing again when the pools fill with autumn rain.African FLowering Plants Database
''Aponogeton distachyos''
/ref>PlantZAfric

/ref>

Description

It is an

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

growing from a

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

ous

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. The often mottled

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

float on the water surface from a petiole up to 1 m long from the rhizome; the leaf blade is narrow oval, 6–25 cm long and 1.5–7.7 cm broad, with an entire margin and parallel veins. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced on an erect spike with two branches at the apex like a 'Y', held above the water surface; they are sweetly scented, with one or two white petal-like perianth segments 1–2 cm long, and six or more dark purple-brown stamens.Flora of NW Europe
''Aponogeton distachyos''
/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Flora of North America
''Aponogeton distachyos''
/ref> The species was described by

Carolus Linnaeus the Younger Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish language, Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' (Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (mo ...

in '' Supplementum Plantarum'' 32, 214. 1782 (as ''"distachyon"'').

Cultivation and uses

It is widely cultivated in South Africa for its edible buds and flowers, used in the recipe

waterblommetjiebredie Waterblommetjiebredie is a stew. The name comes from the Afrikaans language and literally means 'little water flowers stew'. It is made of meat, typically lamb, stewed together with the waterblommetjies ('' Aponogeton distachyos'' flowers) whi ...

.Plants for a Future
''Aponogeton distachyos''
/ref> It is also used as an

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

and

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

plant. It was introduced to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the seventeenth century, and later into other parts of the world. It has escaped into the wild and has become widely

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and more locally in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In North America it is naturalised in southern and western

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.Australian Plant Name Index
''Aponogeton distachyos''
/ref> It will grow in full sun or partial shade. Planting depth should be about 18 inches (45 cm). In the UK at least it flowers rather unpredictably, but the first flowers generally appear from mid-spring onwards with a break in mid-summer. During a mild winter the flowers may continue to appear intermittently. In deeper water the dormant plants survive the winter at the bottom of the pond, but where winters are severe it is a good idea to lift them and overwinter indoors. They can be divided from November to April. Seeds can be found floating on the surface of the

and can be sown in the Spring in about just over an inch of water (3 cm) on a peat / loam substrate at about 20 °C (68 °F) where they will germinate in 1–2 months. Pot on into individual pots and grow in a sheltered spot for the first year in shallow water.

References

External links

''Aponogeton distachyos - includes Recipe for Waterblommetjie Bredie (stew)''''St Louis area, USA, growing tips''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q243828 distachyos Endemic flora of South Africa Freshwater plants Plants described in 1782 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger