Cape-pondweed
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| iAponogeton distachyos | ||||||||
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 Aponogeton distachyos
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| Aponogeton distachyos L.f. |
The Cape-pondweed or water hawthorne (Aponogeton distachyos) is an aquatic plant that is widely cultivated: the flowers are sweetly scented.
It occurs naturally in quiet ponds in temperate South Africa, 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.
It was introduced into cultivation in Europe in the seventeenth century, and later into other parts of the world. It is popular in water gardening because it blooms during the cooler periods of the year. It flowers early in the growing season, goes dormant during the summer, and flowers again late in the season. Where the weather is mild, it will flower all winter.
In deeper water the dormant plants survive the winter at the bottom of the pond, but where winters are severe it is a good idea to lift baskets and overwinter the plants indoors.
It has escaped into the wild and has become widely established in Australia, and locally elsewhere: it is naturalised in southern France. In North America it is naturalised only in central-coastal and southern California.
Valid publication: L.f., Suppl. Pl. 32, 214. 1782 (as "distachyon").
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