Trapa natans
Notifiable organism
Water chestnut, floating water chestnut
- Scientific Name
- Trapa natans
- Origin
- Asia, Europe, Africa
- Type
- Weed
- Plant Life-form Type
- Floating-leaved
- Taxonomy
- L.
- Presence
- Not known to be in NZ
- Habitat
- Lakes, ponds, canals and slow moving water.
- Notes
- Potentially a major weed in New Zealand
- Propagation
- Plant fragments and seed set
- Features
- Plants have toothed diamond shaped upper leafs that float on the water surface forming a rosette. They are arragned on spongey/swollen stalks. The stems give rise to long, narrow or feather like underwater laves and are rooted in the sediment. The fruit is a large (2.5 cm) hard, woody nut with spines (2 to 4) that are sharp.
- Source
- TIFBIS