The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Euryale ferox
Also called Gorgon, Euryale
Prickly water lily (Euryale ferox), also called makhana or gorgon plant, is a large aquatic water lily grown in ponds for its edible seeds, the fox nuts. It needs still, nutrient-rich water in full sun and warm weather.
Euryale ferox, commonly known as prickly waterlily, makhānā, or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus Euryale. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or gorgon nuts, are dried and eaten predominantly in Asia.
The plant is cultivated for its seeds in lowland ponds in India, China, and Japan. The Indian state of Bihar produces 90% of the world's fox nuts. The Chinese have cultivated the plant for centuries. In India, more than 96,000 hectares of Bihar were set aside for cultivation of Euryale in 1990–1991. In the northern and western parts of India, the seeds are often roasted or fried like popcorn.
The seeds and petioles are used as food. In India, more than 96,000 hectares of Bihar, where the local variety (and the nuts it produces) is called Mithila Makhana, were set aside for cultivation of Euryale in 1990–1991.
India is the largest global producer of Makhana (fox nut), with over 90% of cultivation concentrated in the floodplain regions of Bihar, particularly in districts like Darbhanga, Madhubani, and Purnia. Makhana has also emerged as a key agri-export commodity, valued for its nutritional profile and geographical indication. In the northern and western parts of India, Euryale ferox seeds are often roasted or fried like popcorn. In other types of cooking, they form a porridge or pudding called kheer. The seeds are used in Cantonese soup, in Ayurveda preparations, and in traditional Chinese medicine. The seeds accumulate any toxic metals present in the water.
Euryale ferox is a perennial plant native to a range from northern India to Taiwan and through China, Korea, and Japan to far eastern Russia.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Euryale ferox by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
