PlantFiles: Golden Club, Goldenclub, Neverwet
Orontium aquaticum

Propagation:
Golden club spreads vegetatively by underground stems called rhizomes. These rhizomes can be divided in spring for transplanting. Also, the shoots that arise from the rootstock can be separated off and transplanted.
The seeds are said to be easy to germinate in a seed-starting mix under an inch of water. Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in submerged containers in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in trays of water in the cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seed develops on the plant underwater in small green/blue berries

Dangers:
The plant is rich in calcium oxylate, this is toxic and if consumed makes the mouth and digestive tract feel as though hundreds of needles are being stuck into it. However, calcium oxylate is easily destroyed by thoroughly cooking or drying the plant.

Edible Uses:
Root - cooked. It must be soaked in cold water for some hours in order to remove an acrid taste. The fresh root contains calcium oxalate and, when eaten raw, will produce an effect on the mouth similar to being pricked with hundreds of small needles. As long as the root is well cooked the calcium oxalate is broken down and the root is perfectly safe to eat. Drying the root also breaks down the calcium oxalate and makes the root safe to eat.