Ottelia alismoides (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Ottelia alismoides (L.) Persoon

Family: Hydrocharitaceae

Synonyms

• Ottelia condorensis Gagnep.,
• O. japonica Miquel,
• O. javanica Miquel.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: cowehan (Javanese), eceng hai-hai (Sundanese), keladi air (Indonesian)
• Malaysia: keladi ayer
• Philippines: kalabua (general), damong-ilalim (Tagalog), lanting (Bikol)
• Cambodia: sla:b chrâva:
• Laos: kas'è:ng, 'o:b 'è:b (Vientiane)
• Thailand: santawa (central), santawa-baiyai (Bangkok)
• Vietnam: mã dề nước.

Distribution

From north-eastern Africa through India eastward to China and Japan, throughout South-East Asia towards the Solomon Islands and tropical Australia. It has been introduced into southern Italy and North America.

Uses

The plants are used to improve the water quality in fish ponds by capturing floating mud particles. The petioles and leaves are eaten as a vegetable with excellent flavour, the leaves are used in Thailand for seasoning rice. The fruit is also edible. The plant is used in topical treatment of haemorrhoids, and applied as a poultice against fever. It is also grown as an aquarium plant.

Observations

• Partly or fully submerged freshwater plant.
• Floating leaves broadly ovate to cordate-reniform; petiole sheathing at base.
• Flowers bisexual, sessile on an elliptical prominently winged "spathe", 3-merous; petals obovate, white with a yellow-spotted base.
• Fruit oblong-elliptical, rostrate, crowned by the 3 sepals.

O. alismoides is common in stagnant water and slow streams, often growing gregariously up to 700(-1000) m altitude. It is locally regarded as a troublesome aquatic weed and removed manually.

Selected sources

• Brown, W.H., 1951-1957. Useful plants of the Philippines. Reprint of the 1941-1943 edition. 3 volumes. Technical Bulletin No 10. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bureau of Printing, Manila, the Philippines. 590, 513, 507 pp.
• Flora Malesiana (various editors), 1950-. Series 1. Volume 1, 4-. Kluwer, Dordrecht & Flora Malesiana Foundation, Leiden, the Netherlands.
• Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, the Hague, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 261, 1450 pp.
• Mansfeld, R., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaflicher und gärtnerischer Kulturpflanzen (ohne Zierpflanzen) [Register of cultivated agricultural and horticultural plants (without ornamentals)]. Schultze-Motel, J. et al., editors 2nd edition, 4 volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1998 pp.
• National Academy of Sciences, 1976. Making aquatic weeds useful: some perspectives for developing countries. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., United States. 174 pp.
• Soerjani, M., Kostermans, A.J.G.H. & Tjitrosoepomo, G., 1987. Weeds of rice in Indonesia. Balai Pustaka, Jakarta, Indonesia. 716 pp.
• Turner, C.E., 1980. Ottelia alismoides (L.) Pers. (Hydrocharitaceae). Madrono (USA) 27(4): 177.
• Vidal, J., 1962. Noms vernaculaires de plantes en usage au Laos [Vernacular names of plants used in Laos]. Extrait du Bulletin de l'Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient 49, fasc. 2. 197 pp.
• Wealth of India (various editors), 1948-1976. A dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products: raw materials. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India. 4441 pp.

Authors

• M.S.M. Sosef & L.J.G. van der Maesen