Aponogeton Linnaeus (1781: 32)

Manawaduge, Chapa G. & Yakandawala, Deepthi, 2018, Morphometrics and taxonomic update to the Sri Lankan Aponogetonaceae, Phytotaxa 365 (3), pp. 201-224 : 210

Aponogeton Linnaeus (1781: 32)

Type:— Aponogeton natans ( Linnaeus 1771: 226) Engler & Krause in Krause & Engler (1906: 11).

The generic characters are same as that of the family.

All species of Aponogeton ( Alismatales : Aponogetonaceae ) are obligate aquatic (freshwater) plants, which are distributed from Africa, Madagascar, India and Sri Lanka ( Ceylon) through Asia and Malesia to SW., N. and E. Australia, with highest diversity in Africa and Madagascar. The genus has about 58 species. Of the six Sri Lankan species four are endemic whereas the other two occur in India and Pakistan. There are no members of the Aponogetonaceae native to the New World.

The starchy, tuberous rootstock of most species is said to be edible and has been an important source of food in some areas in the past in times of famine. At present the inflorescences serve as a vegetable in the local markets and the tuberous root stock is extracted mainly for medicinal purposes. Aponogeton rigidifolius , A. crispus and A. jacobsenii have been often cultivated by aquarists in USA and in Europe. Due to this demand, these plants have been collected in large quantities from the island in the past and as a result the populations are much reduced. However, during the present field studies, we noted that the plants were more often extracted for their medicinal value rather than for their ornamental value. This may be due to the strict regulations that have been imposed.

Vernacular name-‘Kekatiya’ in Sinhala