Let's talk about the difference between their leaves. The former is an oval leaf with a length of 3.5-6cm and a width of 5-10cm; the latter is a round or oval leaf with a diameter of about 1.5cm. And then they have different petioles. The former has a petiole length of 25 to 40 cm, while the latter has a petiole length of 5 to 10 cm. The former has a much longer petiole.
They are widely distributed in the world, so I won't go into details here. The main difference between them is their distribution in China. The former is mainly distributed in Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other provinces, that is to say, most of them are in the south. However, the latter is more widely distributed in most provinces in China.
For the water shield, its eating is very common. There are many dishes about it in the folk, and even it has been used as a food material since ancient times. As for non vegetable, it doesn't mean that it can't be eaten, but it's very rare to use it as food material, and there are also taboos, for example, because it has the effect of invigorating the sun, so children can't eat it casually
For Brasenia, the flowering period is about June, and the fruiting period is about October; for Brasenia, the flowering and fruiting period is from April to October. So, comparatively speaking, its flowering and fruiting period is a little longer
