This is a well known local delicacy for the cold winter months. It has become so popular that many commercial plantings have been made in ponds around the western Cape. Cooked with onions, mutton or lamb and a few leaves of the local sorrel/suring (Oxalis pes-caprae) it makes a delicious stew.

The long, oval shaped leaves float on the water, but it is usually the flowers standing up out of the water above the leaves, that attract attention.

Waterblommetjies flower in profusion during winter and spring. Large areas of water in the western, southern and eastern Cape are covered with their sweetly scented, white flowers.

The flower is interesting in that it is really a forked inflorescence bearing tiny, white, one-petalled flowers with brown anthers. The flowers are also the edible part. Bees are very attracted to the flowers and may be one of the main pollinators.

Aponogeton distachyos occurs naturally in the winter rainfall areas of the Cape. It is adapted to growing in ponds and vleis which dry up in summer. The dormant tubers sprout again as soon as the pools fill in autumn.

The family Aponogetonaceae is regarded as one of the more primitive of the plant families. There are several other species of Aponogeton in southern Africa, but A. distachyos is the best known.

Aponogeton distachyos is a hardy plant and was introduced into cultivation in Europe in the seventeenth century. It has naturalised in southern France and has been cultivated in England where different varieties have been named.

Growing Aponogeton distachyos

For a garden pond this is an excellent plant. Plant new tubers in a pot with loam and place it in shallow water until the plants starts growing strong. The pot can then slowly be moved to deeper water in the sun. Plants can also be planted directly into the pond. Waterblommetjies are vigorous growers that will seed themselves, and in some areas might even need to be controlled.

The seed of Aponogeton germinates freely on the water surface. The young seedlings can be collected and grown on. They will reach flowering size in one season given ideal conditions. Another easy way to propagate the plant is to divide the clumps of tubers in summer. Dormant tubers are sometimes available from plant nurseries in the Cape.