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Euryale ferox, commonly known as prickly waterlily, makhana, or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus Euryale. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or makhana, are dried, and eaten predominantly in Asia.
The plant is cultivated for its seeds in lowland in India, China, and Japan. The Indian state of Bihar produces 90% of the world's fox nuts. The Chinese people have cultivated the plant for centuries. In India, more than 96,000 of Bihar were set aside for cultivation of Euryale in 1990–1991. In the northern and western parts of India, the seeds are often roasted or fried, which causes them to pop like popcorn.
The chromosome count is n = 29. The genome size is 870.42 Mb. The chloroplast genome is 159930 bp long.
Evidence from archaeobotany indicates that Euryale ferox was a frequently collected wild food source during the Neolithic period in the Yangtze region, with many finds from the sites of Kuahuqiao, Hemudu, and Tianluoshan. The earliest recorded use of E. ferox is from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel, among artifacts of the Acheulean 750–790,000 years ago.
Fox nuts have traditionally been harvested by diving without breathing equipment to a depth of in freshwater ponds. This is arduous, with skin hazards from mud and the plant's thorns. In the 21st century, the National Research Centre for Makhana has pioneered the plant's cultivation in fields flooded to a depth of which makes production and harvesting easier. The area of land devoted to fox nut production has increased to by 2022. The centre has developed a more productive variety, increasing farm income, and is designing a harvesting machine.
The genus is named after a mythical Greek Gorgon, Euryale. The specific epithet ferox means fierce or ferocious in Latin.
India is the largest global producer of Makhana (fox nut), with over 90% of cultivation concentrated in the floodplain regions of Bihar, particularly in districts like Darbhanga, Madhubani, and Purnia. Makhana has also emerged as a key agri-export commodity, valued for its nutritional profile and GI-tagged identity.
In 2022, E. ferox was recorded as naturalised in Serbia, probably dispersed from plants grown in botanical gardens by migrating birds. The iNaturalist website also records an observation of a naturalised plant in 2024 in Minnesota, USA, with the note that it was removed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to prevent its spread.
Distribution
Euryale ferox is a perennial plant native to a range from northern India to Taiwan and through China, Korea, and Japan to far eastern Russia.
Conservation status
The species is classified on the Red List of endangered plants in Japan and given the designation "vulnerable". It is classified as species of Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, a population decline on the global scale has been reported. It is classified as vulnerable (VU) in South Korea.
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Categories: Flora Of Korea, Flora Of China, Flora Of Bangladesh, Flora Of India, Flora Of Mongolia, Flora Of Japan, Flora Of Myanmar, Flora Of Taiwan, Flora Of Russia, Medicinal Plants Of Asia, Ferox, Plants Described In 1805, Plants Used In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taxa Named By Richard Anthony Salisbury
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