What: roots, young leaves, flowers, seeds
How: roots must be peeled then eaten raw or can be dried and pounded into flour; flowers-raw or cooked; seeds-raw or roasted, young flowers cooked
Where: still water
When: flowers-June to August, seeds-August to September, young leaves early spring-late summer
Nutritional Value: carbohydrates in roots, protein in seeds
Dangers: root can be bitter tasting making it unpleasant to eat.
Spatterdock in drying pond. Normally they would be in water rather than mud.
Spatterdock flower
Root tuber and young leaves
Another picture of the tuber and more mature leaves.
The tuber/roots of spatterdock contain a fair amount of calories. The bitter flavor of these thick roots can be reduced somewhat by peeling the root, then cutting it into golfball-sized pieces, followed by boiling and finally roasting the pieces. Even then the root chunks can be pretty nasty. The seeds formed in the flower-bodies are best roasted.
