Year: 2017
Pages: 101-118
Number: Volume 9, issue 2
Type: scientific article
We review the biology ant the habitat of water chestnut (Trapa L.). We report about the studies of isolated populations of this plant in lakes Upkankul and Bilgilyar of Nurimanovsky district in the Republic of Bashkortostan, which are the situated on the northern boundary of its habitat. The water chestnut is an aquatic plant of Lythraceae family. Its fruits are mainly composed of starch and protein, and have been used as a human food source for a very long time. In the 20th century the plant has been studied comprehensively by soviet botanists, but some mechanisms of germination, pollination and dispersal of seeds are not known well enough yet. Distribution area of water chestnut is disjunctive, however the ways of its formation remain an open question. Some researchers separate dozens of species of Trapa L., whereas others assume there are just many forms of Trapa natans L. That is why there is molecular genetics methods are required to answer the question about water chestnut taxonomy. We also note the necessity of preservation of local Russian populations of water chestnut, its introduction and aquafarming.
Trapa natans, water chestnut, water caltrop, habitat, population, species, introduction, Upkankul, Bilgilyar.
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