Operation Wildflower
  • Home
  • Albums
  • Links
    • Botanical Gardens
    • OWF Sites
    • Public Parks, Gardens and Reserves
    • Reference Sites
    • Private Parks, Gardens and Reserves
  • Information
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Articles
    • Plant Records
      • Aloes
      • Bulbs
      • Climbers
      • Cycads
      • Euphorbias
      • Ferns
      • Grasses
      • Herbs
      • Orchids
      • Parasites
      • Shrubs
      • Succulents
      • Trees
    • Sources of Information
    • Disclaimer
    • Subject Index
Home Home » HABITAT » Near or in fresh water » Aponogeton distachyos, the waterblommetjie
Back to Category Overview
Total images in all categories: 11,528
Total number of hits on all images: 6,611,590

Aponogeton distachyos, the waterblommetjie

Aponogeton distachyos, the waterblommetjie
Start View full size
[Please activate JavaScript in order to see the slideshow]
Previous Previous
Image 2 of 74  
Next Next
Image 4 of 74  
  • A dam or Adam, we are from water
  • All drink, some swim
  • Aponogeton distachyos, the waterblommetjie
  • At home in a Bainskloof stream
  • Augrabies
  • Bend if you're thirsty
  • Biedouw River dressing up
  • Birds on a floating river isle
  • Blacksmith plover
  • Close and comfortable
  • Clouds over the Chobe
  • Damhoek dry watercourse
  • Dining out in saddle-billed stork style
  • Drosera aliciae faring swimmingly
  • Drosera capensis increasing
  • Egrets, heron and hippo
  • Egyptian geese by the Crocodile River

Image information

Description

Aponogeton distachyos, commonly Cape pondweed or in Afrikaans waterblommetjie (little water flower), is a submerged aquatic perennial. It grows from a rhizome embedded in the mud sediment of permanent or seasonal fresh water that stands or moves slowly.

Several Aponogeton species grow in the winter rainfall area of the Western and Eastern Cape, widespread in dam, ditch or vlei. It is widely planted, also commercially, eaten as a vegetable or for making the stew known as waterblommetjiebredie, a local delicacy.

The oblong, mottled leaves float on long stalks of up to 1 m upon the water surface. The fragrant flowers grow in forked spikes above the water surface and leaves. Flowers are small and one-petalled. The petal is white; a creamy yellow hue is visible towards the base of the larger flowers, lower down in the spike in picture.

Every flower has a cluster of more than six stamens, each topped by a tiny, dark brown anther. Pollination is done by bees and other insects. Flowering and harvesting happen in winter and spring (Manning, 2009; www.biodiversityexplorer.org; www.plantzafrica.com).

Hits
609
Photographer
Martin Etsebeth
Author
Ivan Latti
 
Back to Category Overview
Powered by JoomGallery