#1264 - Marselia sp. - Nardoo
aka ‘Water Clover’
A remarkably dense growth of Nardoo around the old railway dam near Cue - our host had never seen so much of it there before.
Marsilea is a genus of approximately 65 species of aquatic fern, named after Italian naturalist Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli (1656–1730). They hardly resemble ferns at all, The long-stalked leaves have four clover-like lobes and are either held above water or submerged.
The sporocarps of some Australian species are very drought-resistant, surviving up to a century in dry conditions. When wet, the gelatinous interior of the sporocarp swells, splitting it and releasing a worm-like mass that carries sori, eventually leading to germination of spores and fertilization.
Some species are edible - the leaves of Marsilea crenata are part of the East Javanese cuisine of Indonesia, and called Pecel Semanggi. It’s served with spicy peanut and sweet potato sauce. In Australia, the sporocarps of species including Marsilea drummondii are eaten by Aborigines and early white settlers. However, the sporocarps contain an enzyme which destroys thiamine (vitamin B1), leading to brain damage in sheep and horses. During floods in the Gwydir River basin 2,200 sheep died after eating nardoo. Three-quarters of the sheep that were affected did however respond to thiamine injections.Thiamine deficiency from incorrectly prepared nardoo likely resulted in the starvation and death of Burke and Wills.
They also make interesting aquarium plants.
Cue