Justicia caerulea
Forssk.
Acanthaceae Edible: Flowers
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The New York Botanical Garden
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Conveyor Belt
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RSA - California Botanic Garden Herbarium (RSA-RSA)
Description
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It can be 35 cm tall. The leaves are narrowly sword shaped and 2-6 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are slightly hairy. The flowers are in opposite clusters. There are about 3 flowers in a group. They are blue.
Edible Uses
The blue flowers are eaten, particularly by children.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows between 75-1,650 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Somalia,
Other Information
The flowers are eaten especially by children.
References (3)
- Herb., E. A., 1981,
- Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 44
