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Aponogeton distachyos
Aponogetonaceae FAMILY

Aponogeton distachyos

Aponogeton distachyos

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

A plant of the warm temperate and subtropical zones, where it is found at elevations up to 1,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 12 - 18°c, but can tolerate 10 - 24°c[1]. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -5°c or lower, but new growth is badly damaged at 0°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,100mm, but tolerates 500 - 1,200mm[1]. A water plant, growing in water 15 - 60cm deep. It can also grow in wet soil but is then very restricted[2]. It requires a rich soil[2]. Thrives in clay and loamy soils[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8[1]. Succeeds in full sun and under partial shade[1]. Plants are adapted to growing in ponds that dry up in the heat of summer - the plants become dormant at this time, coming back into growth when the winter rains fill up the ponds[3]. The flowers have a hawthorn-like scent[4].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a pot as soon as it is ripe and kept emmersed in 3cm of water. The seed can also be stored in water and sown in spring[5]. It usually germinates in 1 - 2 months at 20°c[5]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in just covered in water in a greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. In its native environment, the seeds germinate whilst floating in the water - in this case the seedlings can be gathered up, planted into pots and then planted out into their permanent positions when large enough[3]. Plants can flower in their second year of growth from seed[3]. Division can be carried out at any time in the growing season, though mid to late spring is probably best. The divisions can be planted straight out into their permanent positions. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Aponogeton+distachyos>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Complete Guide to Water Plants. — Muhlberg. H. · 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.
  3. [3]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
  4. [4]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  5. [5]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  7. [7]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  8. [8]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · 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.
  10. [10]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  11. [11]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  13. [13]Plants Consumed by Man. — Brouk. B. · Academic Press · 1975 · ISBN 0-12-136450-x ↩︎Readable but not very comprehensive.
  14. [14]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.