Trapa

Trapa, a genus of plants of the natural order Onagraræ, and named from the resemblance of the fruit to a Caltrop (q.v.; Low Lat. calcitrappa). The genus comprises only two or three species, all aquatic and natives of central and southern Europe, India, China, and Japan. The seeds of all abound in starch, and are much used for food. The more familiar is the T. natans, or Water Chestnut (French Marron d'Eau). T. bispinosa, the Singhara Nut, affords a great part of the food of the inhabitants of Cashmere.