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Marsilea quadrifolia
Also called Common Water Clover, Water Shamrock, European Water Clover, European Marsilea, European Pepperwort, European Water Fern, Four Leaf Clover
A small aquatic or semi-aquatic fern whose four-part leaves look like a clover, grown in pots kept wet, semi-submerged, or fully submerged in aquariums. It thrives with consistently moist roots and plenty of sun.
Marsilea quadrifolia is a herbaceous plant found naturally in central and southern Europe, Caucasia, western Siberia, Afghanistan, south-west India, China, Japan, and Vietnam, though it is considered a weed in some parts of the United States, where it has been well established in the northeast for over 100 years. Its common names include four leaf clover and European waterclover (USA), even though it is not a species of clover.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil and can grow in water.
Marsilea quadrifolia can be grown as a potted plant, either just with soil kept wet, or semi-submerged, with fronds emergent from the water, or fully submerged, with the fronds floating on the surface of the water.
In some places it has been used as food for more than 3000 years. The plant is said to be anti-inflammatory, diuretic, depurative, febrifuge and refrigerant. It is also used to treat snakebite and applied to abscesses.
Marsilea ancyclopoda · Nardoo · Rough waterclover · Dwarf waterclover · Australian Water Clover · Hairy waterclover · Waterclover
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Marsilea quadrifolia 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.
