Water caltrop

Trapa natans, T. natans var. bispinosa

fruit · nuts & seeds

A floury, four-horned fruit of a floating water plant, boiled or roasted like a chestnut — hence its other name, water chestnut.

Origin

Ponds of Europe and Asia

Season (United States)

September to November

Preparation

It is always eaten boiled: raw, it can carry the larvae of a parasite from the still water where it grows.

Molecules

In small amounts, not counted Insoluble fibers

Did you know?

It is also called devil's horns or water truffle in French; archaeology has found it in quantity, especially in eastern Europe: it has been eaten since the Neolithic.