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WATER SHIELD Brasenia Schreberi
Common Names: Water Target. Deer
Food. Little Water Lily. Frog Leaf. Fanwort.
Range: Nova Scotia to Manitoba and
Nebraska, south to Florida, Texas and Mexico.
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Habitat: Ponds and slow streams.
Description: Small purple-flowered aquatic plant of
the Fanwort family, found in northern ponds and still waters throughout
the word, except in Europe. The water shield is a floating-leaved
plant, but the long leaf stalks reach all the way to the bottom where they
attach to a long creeping root that is anchored in the mud. Water shield
occurs in lakes, ponds and slow streams, and prefers water up to six feet
deep.
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Water shield leaves are oval and
shield-shaped. Its leaf stalks are attached at the centers of the leaf
blades. Its submersed parts and undersides of leaves are covered with a
viscous jelly-like substance. Its flowers (shown above) are small, dull purple, and
emerge from the water on a stalk.
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oval, floating leaf of water shield is about 2 to 4 inches long. A long, jelly-coated stem connects the middle of the leaf to
rootstocks buried in mud. Several leafstalks of varying lengths rise from
the main stalk. The flowers are small and have
three or four narrow petals; the small fruit is club shaped. |
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Edible Use: The young curled leaf tips, which are
coated with a thick transparent mucilage, are eaten as a salad with
vinegar, sake and soy sauce, or they added to soups as a thickener.
Considered a great delicacy in Japan where they are often bottled and sold
in local markets. They are mainly used in the spring. The roots are
peeled then boiled and eaten, they can also be dried and
stored for later use or ground into a powder.
Medicinal Use: The leaves are astringent. They are
crushed and applied to abscesses and boils, and are also used in the
treatment of phthisis and dysentery.
A decoction of the seed is antidotal. It is also used in the treatment of
dysentery and to relieve thirst.
The plant is anthelmintic and vulnerary. It is used in the treatment of
cancer.
Historic
References: "The underside of the leaf is covered with a
coat of pale jelly, sometimes purplish, first described by Schreber...the leaves
afford one of the few instance of pure homogenous vegetable jelly, being
spontaneously produced, and covering the whole under surface of the leaves and
the stem. Deer and cattle are very fond of eating these leaves; even swim
in the water in search of them. They are mucilaginous, astringent,
demulcent, tonic and nutritious. The fresh leaves may be used like lichen
in pulmonary complaints and dysentery. When dry the gelatinous matter
almost disappears yet they impart mucilage to water...unnoticed as yet by all
medical writers but well known to the Indians." 1828 Rafinesque
A remedy for the menses; stomach trouble;
the best for flux. The flowers of water target, the root of bloodroot, the
inner bark of choke cherry and of Maidenhair and ginseng, mixed. 1928 H.
Smith MESKWAKI
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