An official website of the United States government.
Scientific Name:
Trapa natans L. (ITIS)
Common Name:
Water chestnut, water nut, water caltrop
Native To:
Eurasia (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Date of U.S. Introduction:
1800s (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Means of Introduction:
Ornamental (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Impact:
Crowds out native species (Fofonoff et al. 2003)
Distribution / Maps / Survey Status
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University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.Provides state, county, point and GIS data. Maps can be downloaded and shared.
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DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.Provides detailed collection information as well as animated map.
Images
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Google.
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University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Videos
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Google. YouTube; Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association Education (Central New Jersey).
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Google. YouTube; Riverbank Media.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Water Chestnut.
Council or Task Force
Alberta Invasive Species Council (Canada).
See also: Fact Sheets for more information about individual invasive species, including those listed as "Prohibited Noxious" and "Noxious" under the Alberta Weed Control Act
Partnership
IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Federal Government
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Marine Invasions Research Lab.
DOI. USGS. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Provides distribution maps and collection information (State and County).
USDA. ARS. National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN-Global.
International Government
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (Canada).
See also: Invasive Species Fact Sheets for more resources
Business Queensland (Australia).
State and Local Government
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
See also: Exotic Species Program - Publications for more resources
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Office of Water Resources.
See also: Aquatic Invasive Plants for species of concern
Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
See also: Invasive Species for exotic animal and plant pests invading Indiana, causing economic and visual damage
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
See also: Invasive Plant Fact Sheets for plant species (trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and aquatic plants) that have impacted the state's natural lands
Academic
University of California. Weed Research and Information Center.
See also: Weeds in Natural Areas for more information sheets
University of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Flora Project of Morris Arboretum.
See also: Invasive Plant Fact Sheets for additional invasive plants in Pennsylvania
Columbia University. Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.
University of Maine. Cooperative Extension.
See also: Maine Invasive Plants & Entire Series for entire series of 22 fact sheets and invasive plants brochure (available in HTML/PDF or for purchase)
Professional
Lake Stewards of Maine.
Special Note: Formerly known as the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program.
Citations
- Fofonoff, P.W., G.M. Ruiz, B. Steves, A.H. Hines, and J.T. Carlton. 2003. Trapa natans. In: National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System: Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database. [Accessed Sep 16, 2014].
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Trapa natans. [Accessed Sep 10, 2014].