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.
Native to South Africa's Western Cape and Mpumalanga provinces, but introduced elsewhere in quiet ponds in warm temperate to subtropical climates in winter rainfall areas. It grows in ponds and vleis which dry up in summer, becoming dormant in the dry summer and growing again when the pools fill with autumn rain.[2][3]
Descriptionedit
A. distachyos, habit, showing aerial and submerged parts
It is an aquatic plant growing from a tuberousrhizome. The often mottled leaves 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 flowers 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.[4][5][6]
Agricultural workers harvesting waterblommetjies for human consumption in the Western Cape, South Africa.
It is widely cultivated in South Africa for its edible buds and flowers, used in the recipe waterblommetjiebredie.[3][7]
It is also used as an aquarium and pond plant. It was introduced to Europe in the seventeenth century, and later into other parts of the world. It has escaped into the wild and has become widely naturalised in Australia, and more locally in France and England. In North America it is naturalised in southern and western California.[4][5][6][8]
It will grow in full sun or partial shade. Planting depth should be about 45 centimetres (18 in).[citation needed]
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 aquarium / pond 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.[citation needed]
Referencesedit
^"Aponogeton distachyos". IUCN Red List. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
^Australian Plant Name Index: Aponogeton distachyos
External linksedit
Aponogeton distachyos - includes Recipe for Waterblommetjie Bredie (stew)
St Louis area, USA, growing tips
Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). " Aponogeton distachyos". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
April 07, 2024
aponogeton, distachyos, aponogeton, distachyum, also, known, waterblommetjie, trans, water, floret, cape, pondweed, water, hawthorn, vleikos, cape, pond, weed, aquatic, flowering, plant, foliage, inflorescenceconservation, statusleast, concern, iucn, scientifi. 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 Aponogeton distachyosFoliage and inflorescenceConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade MonocotsOrder AlismatalesFamily AponogetonaceaeGenus AponogetonSpecies A distachyosBinomial nameAponogeton distachyosL f Waterblommetjie Aponogeton distachyos distribution Contents 1 Origin 2 Description 3 Cultivation and uses 4 References 5 External linksOrigin editNative to South Africa s Western Cape and Mpumalanga provinces but introduced elsewhere in quiet ponds in warm temperate to subtropical climates in winter rainfall areas It grows in ponds and vleis which dry up in summer becoming dormant in the dry summer and growing again when the pools fill with autumn rain 2 3 Description edit nbsp A distachyos habit showing aerial and submerged partsIt is an aquatic plant growing from a tuberous rhizome The often mottled leaves 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 flowers 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 4 5 6 The species was described by Carolus Linnaeus the Younger in Supplementum Plantarum 32 214 1782 as distachyon Cultivation and uses edit nbsp Agricultural workers harvesting waterblommetjies for human consumption in the Western Cape South Africa It is widely cultivated in South Africa for its edible buds and flowers used in the recipe waterblommetjiebredie 3 7 It is also used as an aquarium and pond plant It was introduced to Europe in the seventeenth century and later into other parts of the world It has escaped into the wild and has become widely naturalised in Australia and more locally in France and England In North America it is naturalised in southern and western California 4 5 6 8 It will grow in full sun or partial shade Planting depth should be about 45 centimetres 18 in citation needed 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 aquarium pond 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 citation needed References edit Aponogeton distachyos IUCN Red List 5 May 2009 Retrieved 16 February 2022 African FLowering Plants Database Aponogeton distachyos a b PlantZAfrica Aponogeton distachyos a b Flora of NW Europe Aponogeton distachyos permanent dead link a b Blamey M amp Grey Wilson C 1989 Flora of Britain and Northern Europe ISBN 0 340 40170 2 a b Flora of North America Aponogeton distachyos Plants for a Future Aponogeton distachyos Australian Plant Name Index Aponogeton distachyosExternal links editAponogeton distachyos includes Recipe for Waterblommetjie Bredie stew St Louis area USA growing tips Dressler S Schmidt M amp Zizka G 2014 Aponogeton distachyos African plants a Photo Guide Frankfurt Main Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aponogeton distachyos amp oldid 1177119430, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
