This man, "the Captain" I call him, took us for a ride around his home in his dingy. He pulled a clump of plants from the river, and with some wrangling he produced 2 nuts which he gave to me. These nuts and this plant are endangered, and only grow in this region of the world just downriver from Chernobyl. The nut can be fermented in a liquid and taken as a medicine for ulcers.