Last week, I rushed to the Botanical Garden for a quick photograph of those Carolina Blue spiderworts. Walking quickly out, I made the mistake of glancing over the surface of those water lily tanks behind the Totten Center. The other aquatic plants usually go unnoticed, but this time my eye was captured by a very small, ruby-red flower reaching an inch or two above the surface. What a beautiful little flower!
That plant, water shield, Brasenia schreberi, is in all of those aquatic tanks. You may have to search a bit to find the little flowers scattered above the water surfaces here and there. Though the flowers continue off and on during the summer, there may not be one showing during your visit. The best part about not finding a flower is that you’ll have more time to concentrate on the leaves.
You are not going to believe those leaves! They are small compared to the big round water lilies. They are elliptical in shape, one-to-two inches wide and two-to-three inches long. They’re green above and maroon-colored below. Gently turn over a leaf to see the dark contrasting color. You will observe that the petiole (the stem of the leaf) is attached directly to the middle of the leaf blade. This unusual characteristic makes it a peltate leaf. The common woodland spring wildflower May Apple, Podophyllum peltatum, also has a peltate leaf, as the Latin name describes.
Those petioles are really long. The plant can grow in water as deep as six feet. The petioles have some elasticity, allowing the leaf to stretch up and down with changing water levels. That doesn’t mean you should pull on them when you are touching them. My hunch is that at first touch you’re going to quickly release that leaf from your fingertips.
The underside of the leaf and the petiole feel like they’re covered with a hard jelly. Don’t hesitate holding the leaf again, because that thick coating of gelatinous slime won’t cling to your fingers like the slimy substance of a common slug. That slimy coat must provide some kind of protective benefit for the plant.
The leaves serve as a valuable shelter for fish, and waterfowl eat the seeds as well as the leaves. Native Americans used the tuberous roots for food and the Japanese use the young stems and leaves in salads. I’ve found a reference crediting the Japanese with processing and using the gelatinous coating. There is no clue about what that use may be. There’s a good “find the answer†challenge for Citizen readers.
Just seeing and feeling the plant will suit me fine; I’m not about to eat it, but I admit that I can’t walk by without touching it. You really do have to touch it to believe it. And if you want to really have some fun, introduce it to your friends and I’ll wager that any young people under your influence will talk about it long after you leave the garden.