Family

Nymphaeaceae

Genus

Euryale

Common Name

Prickly waterlily

Plant Figure

Description

Euryale ferox Salisb., an annual aquatic herbaceous plant, is the only species in the genus Euryale in the botanical family Nymphaeaceae. The seeds of E. ferox are rich in starch, proteins, vitamins, minerals and many other nutritional ingredients. The 'Compendium of Materia Medica' describes the many medicinal uses of E. ferox, which included its use as a kidney tonic, for nourishing the spleen, as a treatment for diarrhea, as well as for eliminating dampness. Seeds of E. ferox are also a significant component of contemporary Chinese herbal medicine and are used to treat a variety of diseases, such as kidney failure, chronic diarrhea, excessive leucorrhea, and hypofunction of the spleen.