Melochia melissifolia
Benth.
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(c) Olivier Tostain, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Olivier Tostain
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Guillaume Delaitre, some rights reserved (CC BY)
iNaturalist· cc-by
(c) Guillaume Delaitre, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Description
A herb that lies along the ground. It keeps growing from year to year. It can be a bush 1.5 m high. The stems have soft hairs.
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Edible Uses
The leaves are eaten as a vegetable.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It often grows as a weed in rice fields and is widespread across tropical Africa. It grows in woodland, wet grass savannah and palm groves. It can be along the edges of lakes.
Where It Grows
Africa, America, Belize, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, East Africa, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South America, Suriname, West Africa,
Notes
Also put in the family Sterculiaceae.
Also Known As
Depe, Fandami, Funkainyi, Quebe
References (3)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 5. Kew.
- Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 380
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
