Nuphar advena, Nuphar luteum, Nuphar polysepalum.

Nuphar advena Ait. Nymphaeaceae. Yellow Pond Lily. Spatter-Dock.

North America. In New England, Josselyn found the roots of the water lily with yellow flowers, after long boiling, eaten by the natives and tasting like sheep-liver. R. Brown says the seeds are a staple article of diet among the Klamaths of southern Oregon. Newberry saw many hundred bushels collected for winter use among the Indians of the western coast and says the seeds taste like those of broom corn and are apparently very nutritious.

Nuphar luteum Sibth. & Sm. Yellow Water Lily.

Europe and the adjoining portions of Asia. A refreshing drink is made from its flowers by the Turks, and its roots and leaf-stalks are eaten by the Finns and Russians.

Nuphar polysepalum Engelm.

California. This variety furnishes an important article of food, in its seeds, to the Indians.


Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.