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Marsilea minuta
Also called Dwarf Water Clover, Gelid Waterklawer, Small Water Clover
Dwarf waterclover is a small aquatic fern that creeps across shallow water or forms cushion-like mats on moist ground. It grows best with its leaves emerging from shallow water or wet soil, and it can spread into dense colonies.
Marsilea minuta, or dwarf waterclover is a species of aquatic fern in the family Marsileaceae. It is not to be confused with Marsilea minuta E.Fourn. 1880, which is a synonym for Marsilea vestita. Other common names include gelid waterklawer, small water clover, airy pepperwort, and pepperwort, though the lattermost also applies to plants in the genus Lepidium. In French it is called marsilea à quatre feuilles (literally "four-leafed marsilea") and petite marsilée (literally "little Marsilea"), the latter appearing to be a calque with the Latin botanical name. In Chinese it is 南国田字草 (nan guo tian zi cao), literally "southern field word grass," referencing the similarity of the leaflet shape to the Chinese character for "field." The Koch Rajbongshi people and Garo people call it shusni shak.
It is called 'শুশনি শাক' (shushni shak) in Bengali.
Marsilea minuta can grow from sea level up to 1,950 m (6,400 ft) in elevation in ponds and other shallow water. It can grow in fresh water or brackish water in clay or sandy soil. The plant can develop into large colonies, and can be weedy. Some of its preferred habitat is being lost to agriculture but as it readily grows in Paddy fields, drainage ditches, and other marginal areas its overall population is stable. It has the potential to be invasive and dispersal through aquarium trade and other human means should be limited.
It is eaten in India, Sri Lanka, and in Bangladesh. In China it is used as forage. It has a raw protein content of 3.3%.
Marsilea ancyclopoda · Nardoo · Rough waterclover · Australian Water Clover · European waterclover · Hairy waterclover · Waterclover
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Marsilea minuta 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.
