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 aquatic herb, known as waterblommetjie, has been a traditional wild-gathered vegetable. This plant has been brought into cultivation as a food crop during the past twenty years. The reasons for its domestication were the loss and decline in wild populations because of herbicide runoff from agriculture, urban expansion that reduced the plant's habitat, and over-collection. Domestication also began because a pop song, celebrating this vegetable as an Afrikaans cultural symbol, started a food fad that greatly increased demand. Waterblommetjie cultivation, widespread marketing, and the general popularity of this unique food continues in the Mandela Era of South Africa.