This tiny plant is a nutritious food. Its green part is about 40% protein by dry weight and its turion is about 40% starch.[8][9] It contains many amino acids important to the human diet, relatively large amounts of dietary minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc, and vitamin B12.[9] It has long been used as a cheap food source in Burma, Laos, and Thailand, where it is known as khai-nam ("eggs of the water").[10] The plant is prolific in its reproduction, growing in floating mats that can be harvested every 3 to 4 days; it has been shown to double its population in less than four days in vitro.[11]