Cyperaceae

Chinese water chestnut

Eleocharis dulcis (Burm.f.) Trin. ex Hensch.

Family: Cyperaceae
Genus: Eleocharis

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Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) — FlowerPhoto: Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (48)

Arabic: إيليوكاريس حلو
arz: ايليوكاريس حلو
Assamese: চেঁচোৰ
Bangla: এলিওচারিস ডুলসিস
Bulgarian: Китайски воден кестен
Burmese: ဝက်မြေဥ
Cantonese: 馬蹄
cdo: 莓薺
Chinese: 荸荠, 荸薺, 通天草, 地栗, 红慈姑（民间常用草药汇编）, 荸荠椇, 通天草（浙江）, 马蹄
Czech: Bahnička jedlá
Danish: Vandkastanje, Kinesisk vandkastanje
Dutch: Chinese waterkastanje
English: Chinese water chestnut
Esperanto: Akvokaŝtano
Filipino: Apulid, Chinese water chestnut, Water chestnut
Finnish: Vesikastanja, Kastanjaluikka
French: Châtaigne d'eau chinoise
gan: 荸救
German: Wasserkastanie, Chinesische Wasserkastanie
Greek: Κινέζικο νεροκάστανο, Ελαιόχαρις η ηδύκαρπος
Gujarati: શિંગોડા
Hindi: चीनी सिंघाड़ा
Hungarian: Vízigesztenye
Indonesian: Purun tikus
Irish: Castán uisce
Japanese: シログワイ, オオクログワイ
Kannada: ವಾಟರ್ ಚೆಸ್ನಟ್
Korean: 남방개
ks: غٲرؠ
lah: سنگھاڑا
Macedonian: Воден костен
mad: Lo'-colo'an
Malay: Sengkuang cina
Marathi: शिंगाडा
mnc: ᠪᡳᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠ
Norwegian Bokmål: Vannkastanje
pam: Apulid
Persian: شاهبلوط چینی آبی
Polish: Ponikło słodkie, Chiński kasztan wodny
Russian: Болотница сладкая, Китайский водяной орех
shn: မၢၵ်ႇႁဵဝ်ႈ, မၢၵ်ႇၼဵဝ်ႈ
Sindhi: سنگھارا
Swedish: Vattenkastanj, Eliocharis dulcis, Kinesisk vattenkastanj, Vattenkastanjer
Thai: แห้วทรงกระเทียม
Tongan: Kuta, Lepironia mucronata
Urdu: سنگھاڑا
Vietnamese: Năn ngọt, Cỏ năng ống, Củ năn bông đơn, Củ năng bông đơn, Mã thầy, Năn, Năn bộp, Năn lùn
wuu: 地栗

Synonyms

Andropogon dulcis Burm.f.
Carex tuberosa (Schult.) Blanco
Eleocharis austrocaledonica Vieill.
Eleocharis dulcis var. tuberosa (Schult.) T.Koyama
Eleocharis equisetina J.Presl & C.Presl
Eleocharis esculenta Vieill.
Eleocharis indica (Lour.) Druce
Eleocharis plantaginea (Retz.) Roem. & Schult.
Eleocharis plantaginea var. stolonifera Boeckeler
Eleocharis plantagineiformis Tang & F.T.Wang
Eleocharis plantaginoidea W.Wight
Eleocharis plantaginoides (Rottb.) Domin
Eleocharis tuberosa Schult.
Eleocharis tumida (Roxb.) Schult.
Limnochloa plantaginea (Retz.) Nees
Limnochloa tumida (Roxb.) Nees
Scirpus dubius Roxb.
Scirpus plantagineus Retz.
Scirpus plantaginoides Rottb.
Scirpus spiralis Willd. ex Kunth
Scirpus tuberosus Roxb.
Scirpus tumidus Roxb.

Flowers

In flower: February, April, June, August to September (from 15 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Graminoid
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: chiuluan, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: りなべる, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Mason Brock, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Harry Rose from Dungog, Australia, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Lachlan Copeland, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Harry Rose from Dungog, Australia, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: jimmy, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Harry Rose from Dungog, Australia, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Eleocharis

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.