Description

Trapa natans, water chestnut, is a floating annual aquatic herb of the family Lythraceae (subfamily Trapoideae), native to warm temperate regions of Eurasia and Africa, widely cultivated across the Indian subcontinent — particularly in the ponds, lakes, and slow rivers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, and West Bengal. The triangular, horn-shaped, horny fruits — Singhara — are a significant traditional food crop harvested in late autumn. Rich in starch, proteins, and minerals, the Singhara fruit is consumed raw, boiled, or dried and ground to produce Singhara flour, which is a permitted food during Hindu fasting periods. In classical Ayurveda, the fruit is known as Sringataka and is documented in the Charaka Samhita as a cooling, Pitta-alleviating, Ojas-promoting (vitality-enhancing) food and nutritive preparation.