I've had the leaves of Ipomoea italica in the Philippines, where it is cooked rather like spinach. It grows in ponds with long floating stems on the surface, though I expect that it would form a bushy plant if out of water or the pond dried up. In East Africa the leaves of sweet potato, I. batatas, are eaten in the same way. John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP SNOWDROP OPEN DAYS AT COLESBOURNE PARK 2006 Every weekend in February, Saturday and Sunday only, from 1 pm 4/5, 11/12,18/19, 25/26 Groups tours by arrangement Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@starpower.net> To: "'Pacific Bulb Society'" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 4:38 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Oxalis aquatica; maybe not, but consider these > Mary Sue asked about, among others, > > Ipomoea aquatica and Nymphoides aquaticum (note that in the older literature > the genus was sometimes treated as neuter, thus Nymphoides aquaticum - > something to keep in mind if you're doing a Google search). > > > Ipomoea aquatica is a widely grown vegetable, now marketed here in the US > primarily in Asian markets. It's sometimes called "water spinach". > > Nymphoides aquatica is a common pond plant in the eastern US and maybe > elsewhere. It's the "banana plant" of the aquarium trade. These are gentian > family plants with flowers a bit like those of Menyanthes. > > Jim McKenney > Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where it may reach 65 degrees > F today. > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >