Water Walnut

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Water walnut (lat. Trapa natans) - a plant from the Derbennikovye family, which has several names: rogulnik, water chestnut, chillim or devil's nut.

Description

Water walnut can be both annual and perennial. It represents stalks slowly floating in the water, the roots of which, like anchors, are attached to the bottom. And either brownish filiform roots or last year's nuts help them gain a foothold. If the water level rises noticeably (this happens especially often during floods), specimens floating on the water surface can easily come off. Nevertheless, they will not die, but will continue to swim calmly on the water surface. And as soon as the roots are back in shallow water and touch the ground, they will immediately re-root.

The stalks of the water walnut are densely covered with leaves that fall off rather quickly and are incredibly thin, like strings. On the water surface, this plant forms one or more bizarre rosettes in the form of slightly serrated leaves. And their rather chaotic arrangement is due to the unequal length of the petioles. Such petioles are equipped with air-filled cavities, thanks to which the rosettes are perfectly adhered to the water surface and do not sink.

Single flowers of a water nut are endowed with transparent or white petals, and this culture blooms in May or June.

The fruits of the water nut have the appearance of drupe-like seeds, painted in blackish-brownish tones. The surfaces of each fruit are covered with tiny growths that resemble curling horns. By the way, ripe fruits trapped in the silt tend not to lose their germination and some other valuable qualities for at least ten years.

Where grows

The most common water walnut can be found in Africa and Europe. You can also meet with him on the territory of Ukraine and Russia - there he grows in the lower reaches of rivers such as the Dnieper, Don, Volga and Bug. Slightly less often, this culture can be seen in the Caucasus, as well as in Siberia and the Far East.

Usage

Water walnut is very much loved in many countries for its unusually tasty fruits - this property of this culture was appreciated at its true worth in ancient times. They even made flour replacing bread from it, grinding the fruits with the help of special hand mills. By the way, the kernels of water walnut are rich in starch, of which they contain up to fifty percent. These funny kernels are allowed to be eaten not only raw, but also boiled, canned or even baked. Or you can simply add them to various salads.

Water nut is also used to cure a number of all kinds of ailments. Fresh nucleoli help to cope with kidney disease, impotence and dyspepsia. Freshly squeezed water-nut juice is an excellent helper in case of eye diseases. In addition, this culture also boasts a powerful antiviral effect, and can also be used as an antiseptic.

And water walnut also acts as a rather spectacular decoration for many bodies of water.

Growing and caring

Heated standing and fresh water is considered ideal for the development of a water nut. This culture propagates with the help of seeds - it is enough just to throw the fruits acquired with the onset of spring into the water. If there is no soil in the reservoir, it is perfectly acceptable to place the fruits in containers and drown them.

In winter, the water walnut is kept in the refrigerator, in jars filled with water. And closer to spring, it will sprout on its own.

In general, water walnuts are not stored very well at home. It is usually stored in cool rooms unpeeled (if these nuts are peeled, they will lose their taste in a couple of days). If you want to fully appreciate the delicious taste of the fruit, it is best to feast on nuts immediately after removing the shells.