Eleocharis dulcis
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ff8b8d9685772450994 |
| Scientific name | Eleocharis dulcis |
| Authority | Hensch. |
| First published in | Vita C.E. Rumphii Plinii Indici 1833 |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
Common products include peeled fresh corms (raw, boiled, steamed, stir‑fried, deep‑fried, or grilled), canned or jarred corms in brine, water‑chestnut flour (also called “ma tai fun” in Cantonese), and water‑chestnut starch. These forms are used in dim sum and Cantonese stir‑fries (e.g., lotus‑leaf rice), dumplings (wonton/shumai), meatball and fish‑ball mixtures, and desserts (e.g., egg custard tarts, almond jelly, buns, steamed sponge cakes). Puree or grated raw corm is sometimes added to batters to improve tenderness and moisture, and it can be grated and mixed into ground meats as a binder and texturizer. The fresh corm is also eaten as a snack, pickled, or made into chips.
Industrial and craft applications:
Starch from the corm is used as a food thickener and stabiliser, improving clarity and firmness of gels; high‑amylose corm starch produces firm, clear, retrogradation‑resistant gels. In some regions, mashed fresh corms or corm flour are evaluated as a feedstock for bioethanol; published trials demonstrate hydrolysis and fermentation to ethanol by engineered or treated yeast.
Colorants and tanning:
No reliable uses are documented.
Wood and fiber:
No reliable uses are documented.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
No reliable uses are documented.
Properties relevant to use:
Amylose‑rich starch content of the corm produces clear, firm, relatively stable gels; corm flesh contains high moisture, low‑to‑moderate soluble sugars, and phenolics that can cause slight browning when cut if exposed to air, but is generally mild‑flavoured and sweet‑ nutty.
Standards and regulation:
Corm‑based foods are generally recognised as conventional foods in major producing/consuming markets (e.g., China, Taiwan, Hong Kong) and are used as food ingredients; cosmetic or industrial uses, if any, would be subject to regional ingredient and food additive rules, though authoritative standards for water‑chestnut starch itself are not widely codified.
Sustainability and sourcing:
Primary production is concentrated in southern China and parts of Southeast Asia, typically in flooded paddies; corms are hand‑harvested and perishable, encouraging local processing (canning, freezing) and starch extraction.
Citations:
• Richardson R., Mikhaylenko N., Fields D. (2015) Novel foods and food ingredients: e-commerce monitoring and characterisation of Chinese water chestnut flour and starch. J Food Anal Methods.
• Cai Y., Shu X., Cheng H., et al. (2018) Starch properties of Eleocharis dulcis corms and their relation to sensory texture. Food Chem.
• Xie H., Zhao Z., Liao J., et al. (2012) Fermentation of Eleocharis dulcis corm mash for ethanol production. Bioresour Technol.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Carex tuberosa | Blanco | Fl. Filip. : 35 (1837) |
| Eleocharis austrocaledonica | Vieill. | Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. , sér. 4, 16: 38 (1862) |
| Eleocharis dulcis var. tuberosa | (Schult.) T.Koyama | J. Fac. Sci. Univ. Tokyo, Sect. 3, Bot. 8: 97 1961 |
| Eleocharis equisetina | J.Presl & C.Presl | Reliq. Haenk. 1: 195 (1828) |
| Eleocharis esculenta | Vieill. | Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. sér. 4, 16: 37. 1862 (1862) |
| Eleocharis indica | Druce | Bot. Soc. Exch. Club Brit. Isles 1916: 621 (1917) |
| Eleocharis plantaginea | (Retz.) Roem. & Schult. | Syst. Veg., ed. 15 bis 2: 150 (1817) |
| Eleocharis plantagineiformis | Tang & F.T.Wang | Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 11: 225 (1961) |
| Eleocharis plantaginoidea | W.Wight | Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. ix. 267. 1905 [8 Apr 1905] |
| Eleocharis plantaginoides | Domin | Biblioth. Bot. 20(85): 445 (1915) |
| Eleocharis tuberosa | Schult. | Mant. 2: 86 (1824) |
| Eleocharis tumida | Schult. | Mant. 2: 86 (1824) |
| Limnochloa plantaginea | (Retz.) Nees | Contributions to the Botany of India 1834 |
| Limnochloa tumida | Nees | Contr. Bot. India : 114 (1834) |
| Scirpus dubius | Roxb. | Hort. Bengal. [81]; Fl. Ind. i. 215. |
| Scirpus plantagineus | Retz. | Observ. Bot. 5: 14 (1788) |
| Scirpus plantaginoides | Rottb. | Descr. Icon. Rar. Pl. : 45 (1773) |
| Scirpus spiralis | Willd. ex Kunth | Enum. Pl. 2: 153 (1837) |
| Scirpus tuberosus | Roxb. | Pl. Coromandel 3: 25 (1815) |
| Scirpus tumidus | Roxb. | Hort. Bengal. 6; Fl. Ind. i. 212. |
| Eleocharis plantaginea var. stolonifera | Boeckeler | Beitr. Cyper. 2: 14 (1890) |
| Andropogon dulcis | Burm.f. | Fl. Indica : 219 (1768) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | chinese water chestnut |
| Arabic | إيليوكاريس حلو |
| Assamese | চেঁচোৰ |
| Bulgarian | китайски воден кестен |
| Bengali | এলিওচারিস ডুলসিস |
| cdo | 莓薺 |
| Czech | bahnička jedlá |
| Danish | kinesisk vandkastanje |
| Danish | vandkastanje |
| German | chinesische wasserkastanie |
| German | wasserkastanie |
| Greek | ελαιόχαρις η ηδύκαρπος |
| Greek | Κινέζικο νεροκάστανο |
| Esperanto | akvokaŝtano |
| Finnish | vesikastanja |
| Finnish | kastanjaluikka |
| French | châtaigne d'eau chinoise |
| Irish | castán uisce |
| gan | 荸救 |
| Gujarati | શિંગોડા |
| Hindi | चीनी सिंघाड़ा |
| Hungarian | vízigesztenye |
| Indonesian | purun tikus |
| Japanese | オオクログワイ |
| Japanese | シログワイ |
| Kannada | ವಾಟರ್ ಚೆಸ್ನಟ್ |
| Korean | 남방개 |
| ks | غأرؠ |
| mad | lo'-colo'an |
| Macedonian | воден костен |
| mnc | ᠪᡳᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠ |
| Marathi | शिंगाडा |
| Malay | sengkuang cina |
| Norwegian Bokmål | vannkastanje |
| Dutch | chinese waterkastanje |
| pam | apulid |
| Polish | ponikło słodkie |
| Polish | chiński kasztan wodny |
| Punjab | سنگھاڑا |
| Russian | Болотница сладкая |
| Russian | Китайский водяной орех |
| sd | سنگھارا |
| Swedish | vattenkastanj |
| Swedish | vattenkastanjer |
| Swedish | kinesisk vattenkastanj |
| Thai | แห้วทรงกระเทียม |
| Tonga | kuta |
| Tonga | lepironia mucronata |
| Urdu | سنگھاڑا |
| Vietnamese | năn ngọt |
| Vietnamese | năng ngọt |
| Vietnamese | năn lùn |
| Vietnamese | năn bộp |
| Vietnamese | năn |
| Vietnamese | mã thầy |
| Vietnamese | củ năng bông đơn |
| Vietnamese | củ năn bông đơn |
| Vietnamese | cỏ năng ống |
| Chinese | 荸薺 |
| Chinese | 马蹄（粤俗） |
| Chinese | 通天草（浙江） |
| Chinese | 荸荠椇 |
| Chinese | 红慈姑（民间常用草药汇编） |
| Chinese | 马蹄 |
| Chinese | 地栗 |
| Chinese | 通天草 |
| Chinese | 荸荠 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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East Tropical Africa
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Uganda
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Northeast Tropical Africa
- Chad
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South Tropical Africa
- Angola
- Mozambique
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
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Southern Africa
- Botswana
- Namibia
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West Tropical Africa
- Burkina
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast
- Liberia
- Mali
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
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West-central Tropical Africa
- Congo
- Gabon
- Zaïre
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Western Indian Ocean
- Madagascar
- Mauritius
- Réunion
- Seychelles
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East Tropical Africa
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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China
- China South-central
- China Southeast
- Hainan
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Eastern Asia
- Japan
- Korea
- Nansei-shoto
- Taiwan
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China
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Asia-tropical click to expand
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Indian Subcontinent
- Bangladesh
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
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Indo-China
- Andaman Islands
- Cambodia
- Myanmar
- Thailand
- Vietnam
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Malesia
- Jawa
- Lesser Sunda Islands
- Malaya
- Maluku
- Philippines
- Sulawesi
- Sumatera
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Papuasia
- New Guinea
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Indian Subcontinent
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Australasia click to expand
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Australia
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- Western Australia
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Australia
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Pacific click to expand
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Northwestern Pacific
- Caroline Islands
- Marianas
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Southwestern Pacific
- Fiji
- New Caledonia
- Samoa
- Tonga
- Wallis-Futuna Islands
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Northwestern Pacific
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000403815 |
| UNII | AX0C5Z8STG |
| USDA Plants | ELDU3 |
| Tropicos | 9902615 |
| INPN | 671079 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:306797-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-242450 |
| Missouri Botanical Garden | 279795 |
| PFAF | Eleocharis dulcis |
| Open Tree Of Life | 388351 |
| Observations.org | 318390 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 110284 |
| IUCN Red List | 169077 |
| IPNI | 306797-1 |
| iNaturalist | 122977 |
| GBIF | 2717712 |
| Freebase | /m/05p7__ |
| EPPO | ELODU |
| EOL | 1120264 |
| Elurikkus | 289473 |
| US Library of Congress | sh85042520 |
| USDA GRIN | 14976 |
| Wikipedia | Eleocharis_dulcis |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_040741935.1 | ASM4074193v1 | Complete Genome | Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 2024-07-16 | 60 | 470.42 Mb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
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If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
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| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty acids and conjugates / Very long-chain fatty acids | |||||
| Hexacosanoic Acid | 10469 | Click to see | 396.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00043A032 |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Triterpenoids | |||||
| Betulin | 72326 | Click to see CC(=C)C1CCC2(C1C3CCC4C5(CCC(C(C5CCC4(C3(CC2)C)C)(C)C)O)C)CO | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00043A032 |
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Steroids and steroid derivatives / Stigmastanes and derivatives | |||||
| 17-(5-ethyl-6-methylheptan-2-yl)-10,13-dimethyl-2,3,4,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | 86821 | Click to see CCC(CCC(C)C1CCC2C1(CCC3C2CC=C4C3(CCC(C4)O)C)C)C(C)C | 414.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00043A032 |
| Stigmast-5-en-3-ol | 22012 | Click to see | 414.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00043A032 |
| Stigmasterol | 5280794 | Click to see | 412.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00043A032 |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / O-methylated flavonoids / 3-O-methylated flavonoids | |||||
| Tricin | 5281702 | Click to see COC1=CC(=CC(=C1O)OC)C2=CC(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)O)O | 330.29 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/JF00043A032 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |