Waterblommetjie (Aponogeton distachyos, Aponogetonaceae), a recently domesticated aquatic food crop in Cape South Africa with unusual origins

The inflorescence of Aponogeton distachyos, an endemic Cope South African a quatic herb, known as waterblommetjie, has been a traditional wild-gathered vegetable. This plant has been brought into cultivation as a food crop dur ing the past twenty years. The reasons for its domestication were the loss and decline in wild populations because of herbicide runoff from agricultur e, urban expansion that reduced the plant's habitat, and over-collection. D omestication also began because a pop song, celebrating this vegetable as a n Afrikaans cultural symbol, started a food fad that greatly increased dema nd. Waterblommetjie cultivation, widespread marketing, and the general popu larity of this unique food continues in the Mandela Era of South Africa.