Orontium aquaticum
| Orontium aquaticum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Orontium aquaticum (common name: golden club)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in submerged containers in a cold frame[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in trays of water in the cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seed develops on the plant underwater in small green berries[2].
Division in spring[2]. Very easy, the divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.
Cultivation: Succeeds in the bog garden or pond margins up to 45cm deep[3][2], but plants do less well if they are not grown in water[1]. Requires a fertile loamy soil in full sun[2].
Plant the rootstock in at least 30cm of soil[4]. Another report says that the plant should be under at least 15cm of water[5].
Plants are hardy to -15°c[2] in one report, to -20°c in another[6], though another says they they may require protection in harsh winters[3].
A most unpleasant animal smell is emitted from the flowers[5].
Range: Eastern N. America - Massachusetts to Kentucky, south to Florida and Louisiana.
Habitat: Sandy, muddy or peaty shores and in shallow water[7].
Edibility: Root - cooked. It must be soaked in cold water for some hours in order to remove an acrid taste[8][9]. The fresh root contains calcium oxalate and, when eaten raw, will produce an effect on the mouth similar to being pricked with hundreds of small needles. As long as the root is well cooked the calcium oxalate is broken down and the root is perfectly safe to eat[10][11]. Drying the root also breaks down the calcium oxalate and makes the root safe to eat[12]. The dried roots can also be ground into a powder and used with flour in making bread, biscuits etc[13]. The root is deep seated in the mud and difficult to extract[14].
Seed - dried[4][14]. The seed must be soaked first in order to remove an acrid taste[8][11][9]. Repeated boiling in changes of water are necessary to render the seeds edible[10]. They have a taste like peas[13].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant is rich in calcium oxylate, this is toxic and if consumed makes the mouth and digestive tract feel as though hundreds of needles are being stuck into it. However, calcium oxylate is easily destroyed by thoroughly cooking or drying the plant.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Muhlberg, Helmut. Complete Guide to Water Plants. Sterling Publishing, 1982.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.