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Nuphar advena - (Aiton.)Aiton.

Common Spatterdock

Author	(Aiton.)Aiton.	Botanical references	200, 235, 270
Family	Nymphaeaceae	Genus	Nuphar
Synonyms	Nuphar lutea advena - (Aiton.)Kartesz.&Gandhi.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Southeastern N. America - Labrador and Nova Scotia, south to Florida, Texas and Utah.
Habitat	Ponds, lakes, sluggish streams and rivers, springs, marshes, ditches, canals, sloughs, and tidal waters from sea level to 450 metres[43, 270].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It can grow in water.

Habitats

Pond;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Root; Seed.

Root - raw or cooked[2, 62, 161, 183]. The root can be soaked in water in order to remove a bitter taste[85]. After long boiling, it has a taste like sheep's liver[2]. The root can also be dried and ground into a powder then used as a thickener in soups, or can be added to cereal flours when making bread, cakes etc[85, 213]. Seed - raw or cooked. It can be roasted, then ground into a powder and eaten raw[213] or used to thicken soups etc[2, 62, 85, 183, 213]. The seed can also be toasted like popcorn[257].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Anodyne; Astringent; Demulcent; Poultice; Styptic.

The fresh root is anodyne, astringent and demulcent[4]. The pulverized dried rhizomes have been used to arrest bleeding[213]. A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of dysentery, diarrhoea etc[4]. A poultice made from the roots is used in the treatment of swellings, boils, tumours, inflamed skin etc[4, 257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A water plant requiring a rich soil and a sunny position. It is best if grown in still water that is up to 60cm deep but it also tolerates slow moving water[200]. Succeeds in light shade[200]. A very ornamental plant[1]. Nuphar advena is extremely variable and intergrades with N . orbiculata , N . ulvacea , and N . sagittifolia in areas where their ranges overlap[270].

Propagation

Seed - sow as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse in pots submerged under 25mm of water. Prick out into individual pots as soon as the first true leaf appears and grow them on in water in a greenhouse for at least two years before planting them out in late spring. The seed is collected by wrapping the developing seed head in a muslin bag to avoid the seed being lost. Harvest it 10 days after it sinks below the soil surface or as soon as it reappears[200]. Division in May. Each portion must have at least one eye. Submerge in pots in shallow water until established[56].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Edible Pond and Bog Garden.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[56] Muhlberg. H. Complete Guide to Water Plants. E. P. Publishing Ltd. 1982 ISBN 0-7158-0789-7
Deals with a wide range of plants for temperate areas (and indoor aquaria) with quite a lot of information on cultivation techniques.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[270] Flora of N. America 0
An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Nuphar advena

Steve@anacostiaws.org Sun Mar 26 2006

I'm looking for information about propagating Nuphar---either from seed or vegetatively.

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