Not long ago, we were walking near a private pond and noticed plants growing around it that looked very much like common plantain. The only difference was the pointed tips of the leaves. I thought they were a type of plantain, but it turned out to be a plantain plant, which is quite poisonous. This is what it looks like:
It's so good that I'm always careful and don't just pick (or drag home) everything, like my friend does. Incidentally, she doesn't even really ask anyone what kind of plant it is, because she believes that everything Mother Nature gives is edible. That's how she once got poisoned and ended up in the hospital... after that, she stopped bringing home unknown herbs.
For this reason, I try to inform you, my dear readers, about all poisonous and edible plants, so that no one gets hurt.
So, water lily is poisonous when fresh, but can be eaten after cooking. It is used in folk medicine and homeopathy, but official medicine has not recognized this plant. Therefore, I do not recommend trying water lily decoctions.
I also discovered that if cattle, sheep, goats, or horses eat these succulent leaves, they can become severely poisoned. I won't even mention rabbits, chickens, and so on. Landscape designers, however, recommend planting waterscaping for ponds and other bodies of water. This is because it requires super-moist soil to thrive.
It's great that you're informing people about the herbs that can be found in our climate! Caution truly should be paramount.
By the way, ducks eat this burdock and it's fine for them. Apparently, livestock and waterfowl have different stomachs, or maybe birds do... I don't know about chickens, but it's definitely best not to give them to them!