Trapa natans
Water chestnut
Common names: Water walnut, Jesuit's nut
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
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Description
The water chestnut (Trapa natans) is an annual floating-leaf plant that thrives in warm, still shallow waters. Its diamond-shaped, glossy leaves form dense rosettes on the water surface, beneath which spiny, starch-rich nuts mature. The nuts develop a mild, nutty flavor when roasted or cooked. Native to Germany, the species is now rare and protected; plants or seeds should only be obtained from garden retailers, never from the wild. The plant is well suited for a sunny mini‑pond or a large watertight container without drainage for home gardens.
Care instructions
Plant seedlings only after the water has been consistently warm, typically from mid‑May (week 20), as the plant cannot tolerate cold. The container or pond requires full sun, still to slightly moving water, and a water depth of about 30–60 cm above a nutrient‑rich substrate layer. Keep the water surface free of competing plants so the leaf rosettes can spread, and fertilize sparingly with mature compost in the root zone. Harvest begins in September when the mature nuts detach from the rosettes and sink to the bottom; scoop them regularly before they subside. Because the plant is annual and does not survive frost, the season ends naturally with the first cold snap; for the next year, collect mature nuts for seed or purchase new seedlings.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, nutrient-rich, humus-rich, loamy
Feeding
Medium feeder
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