''Marsilea quadrifolia'' is a herbaceous plant found naturally in central and southern Europe, Caucasia, western Siberia, Afghanistan, south-west India,

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, and Vietnam, though it is considered a weed in some parts of the United States, where it has been well established in the northeast for over 100 years. Its common names include four leaf clover; European waterclover (USA); ''sushni'' (India); ''aalaik keerai'' ( Tamil).

Description

Aquatic fern bearing 4 parted leaf resembling 'Four-leaf clover' (Trifolium). Leaves floating in deep water or erect in shallow water or on land. Leaflets obdeltoid, to 3/4" long, glaucous, petioles to 8" long; Sporocarp (ferns) ellipsoid, to 3/16" long, dark brown, on stalks to 3/4" long, attached to base of petioles.

Uses

In some places it has been used as food for more than 3000 years. The plant is said to be anti-inflammatory, diuretic,

depurative Depuratives are herbs that are considered to have purifying and detoxifying effects. Herbs that are considered depurative include lingonberry, ukshi, the four-leaf clover, '' Paris polyphylla'', and some species of elderberry. See also *Detoxi ...

, febrifuge and

refrigerant A refrigerant is a working fluid used in the heat pump and refrigeration cycle, refrigeration cycle of air conditioning systems and heat pumps where in most cases they undergo a repeated phase transition from a liquid to a gas and back again. Ref ...

. It is also used to treat snakebite and applied to abscesses.

Cultivation

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil and can grow in water. Plants For a Future
/ref> ''Marsilea quadrifolia'' can be grown as a potted plant, either just with soil kept wet, or semi-submerged, with fronds emergent from the water, or fully submerged, with the fronds floating on the surface of the water. In the

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 ...

, water clover is grown fully submerged, usually in the foreground where it spreads by means of runners. It normally seems to be unfussy as to light and water conditions, and doesn't need a rich substrate. Marsilea are very easy to germinate from their sporocarps. However, the sporocarps must be abraded, cracked, or have an edge sliced off before submerging them in water so that the water can penetrate to swell the tissues, and germination is infrared-light dependent. Full sunlight is fine for this purpose.

References

External links

Natural Aquariums

Flora of North America - useful identification info
{{Authority control quadrifolia Flora of Europe Flora of Afghanistan Flora of Asia Aquatic plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus