Nutritional Freshwater Life
66
Class: Polypodiopsida (Leptosporangiate Ferns)
Marsilea quadrifolia (Linnaeus)
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Salvinales
Family: Marsileaceae
Common name: Four-leaf clover, European water clover.
Distribution: Central and southern
Europe, Caucasia, western Siberia, Afghanistan, southwest India, China, Japan,
and North America.
Habitat: Shallow water of lakes and
ponds, quiet sections of rivers and
streams, wet shores.
Description: This is an aquatic fern
bearing a four-parted leaf. Leaves
are floating in deep water or erect
in shallow water or on land. Leaflets
obdeltoid, to 18 mm long, glaucous;
petioles to 20 cm long. The leaves and
seed of this species are edible.
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (DM)
Protein (%) Ash (%)
Beta-carotene
(mg/100 g)
36.2
11.0
2.6
Minerals (% DM)
Na
K
Ca
P
1.4
1.8
0.5
0.5
Source: Data from Devanji
et al. (1993).
66
Class: Polypodiopsida (Leptosporangiate Ferns)
Marsilea quadrifolia (Linnaeus)
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Polypodiopsida
Order: Salvinales
Family: Marsileaceae
Common name: Four-leaf clover, European water clover.
Distribution: Central and southern
Europe, Caucasia, western Siberia, Afghanistan, southwest India, China, Japan,
and North America.
Habitat: Shallow water of lakes and
ponds, quiet sections of rivers and
streams, wet shores.
Description: This is an aquatic fern
bearing a four-parted leaf. Leaves
are floating in deep water or erect
in shallow water or on land. Leaflets
obdeltoid, to 18 mm long, glaucous;
petioles to 20 cm long. The leaves and
seed of this species are edible.
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (DM)
Protein (%) Ash (%)
Beta-carotene
(mg/100 g)
36.2
11.0
2.6
Minerals (% DM)
Na
K
Ca
P
1.4
1.8
0.5
0.5
Source: Data from Devanji
et al. (1993).