Marsilea quadrifolia
Encyclopedia
Common names
'Four Leaf Clover'; European waterclover (USA); Sushni in parts of India; "aaraik keerai" in Tamil and is in use for more than 3000 years as part of food.Origins
M. quadrifolia is found in central and southern EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Caucasia, western Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, sw India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Considered a weed in some parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where it has been well established in the north eastern States for over 100 years.
Description
Aquatic fern bearing 4 parted leaf resembling '4-leaf clover' (Trifolium). Leaves floating in deep water or erect in shallow water or on land. Leaflets obdeltoid, to 3/4" long, glaucous, petioles to 8" long; Sporocarp (ferns)Sporocarp (ferns)
A sporocarp is a specialised type of structure found in some ferns whose primary function is the production and release of spores.Among ferns, sporocarps are found only in the three families of the order Salviniales, a group that is both aquatic and heterosporous. The term actually refers to two...
ellipsoid, to 3/16" long, dark brown, on stalks to 3/4" long, attached to base of petioles.
Uses
A juice made from the leaves is diuretic and febrifuge. It is also used to treat snakebite and applied to abscesses etc.[218]. The plant is anti-inflammatoryAnti-inflammatory
Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....
, diuretic
Diuretic
A diuretic provides a means of forced diuresis which elevates the rate of urination. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way.- Medical uses :...
, depurative
Depurative
Depurative herbs are considered to have a purifying and detoxifying action....
, febrifuge and refrigerant
Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a substance used in a heat cycle usually including, for enhanced efficiency, a reversible phase change from a liquid to a gas. Traditionally, fluorocarbons, especially chlorofluorocarbons, were used as refrigerants, but they are being phased out because of their ozone depletion...
.
Cultivation
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 the aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
, water clover is grown fully submerged, usually in the foreground where it spreads by means of runners. It normally seems to be unfussy as to light and water conditions, and doesn't need a rich substrate.
Marsileas are very easy to germinate from their sporocarps
Sporocarp (ferns)
A sporocarp is a specialised type of structure found in some ferns whose primary function is the production and release of spores.Among ferns, sporocarps are found only in the three families of the order Salviniales, a group that is both aquatic and heterosporous. The term actually refers to two...
. However, the sporocarps must be abraded, cracked, or have an edge sliced off before submerging them in water so that the water can penetrate to swell the tissues, and germination is infrared-light dependent. Full sunlight is fine for this purpose.