Longnan Jiangdong Water Chestnuts

Longnan Jiangdong Water Chestnuts

Longnan Jiangdong Water Chestnuts is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Longnan Jiangdong Water Chestnuts

　　Longnan County Fruit and Vegetable Association

　　Water chestnuts (scientific name: Heleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin.), also known as horse hooves, water chestnuts, black taro, or burdock, among other names, belong to the monocotyledonous Cyperaceae family and are perennial rhizomatous herbaceous plants. They have slender creeping rhizomes, from the tips of which grow tubers commonly referred to as water chestnuts. The stems are numerous, tufted, erect, cylindrical, with many cross-walls, and when dried, exhibit faint nodes on the surface but not clearly so. The color is gray-green, smooth and hairless. Leaves are absent, with only 2–3 leaf sheaths at the base of the stem; the sheaths are nearly membranous, in greenish-yellow, purplish-red, or brown colors. The spikelets are terminal, cylindrical, with two empty, flowerless scales at the base of the spikelet that encircle the base; the remaining scales all bear flowers. The scales are one and a half times longer than the nutlet, possess retrorse prickles, and have three stigmas. The nutlet is broadly obovate, biconvex, and not constricted at the apex; the base of the style abruptly narrows and flattens into a triangular shape. The flowering and fruiting period is from May to October.

　　Originally native to India, water chestnuts are widely distributed across the world and are cultivated throughout China, predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions. The skin of the water chestnut is dark purple-black, while the flesh is white, sweet, juicy, and crisp. It can be eaten raw as a fruit or cooked as a vegetable. The corms are rich in starch and can be consumed raw, cooked, or processed for starch extraction, offering a delicious taste. They are also used medicinally to stimulate appetite, detoxify, relieve food stagnation, and improve gastrointestinal health.