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The Water shield (Brasenia schreberi) belongs to the family Cabombaceae. It is a perennial herb that is distributed widely, all over Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, North Africa and Africa. This herb grows in ponds or bogs and floats on the water surface. The leaves are elliptic and magenta on the reverse sides. The reverse sides of leaves and young shoots are covered with clear mucilage. The dark reddish flowers come in June to August. The young shoot is used as vegetable. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "蓴" and "蒓菜" (chun cai) in Chinese.
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