Ludwigia erecta
(Linn.) H. Hara
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Description
An annual herb. It can grow up to 3 m high. It has a woody base. The stems are sharply angled. The leaves are 2-13 cm long by 1-5 cm wide. They are sword shaped. There are 16-27 main veins on each side of the midrib. The flowers occur singly in the axils of the upper leaves. The fruit is a capsule 10-19 mm long by about 2 mm wide. It is 4 angled.
Edible Uses
Leaves - cooked]299]. They are cooked to make a sauce for maize and porridge Occasionally they are eaten as a cooked vegetable.
Medicinal Uses
A bath made with the boiled plants is given to relieve fever caused by malaria. An infusion of the leaves is used for treating weak but rapid heart rate, particularly when combined with the leaves of Annona muricata. The leaves are boiled, and the liquid used to make a porridge with oatmeal, plantain, flour or sago flour then used to treat thrush.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in open waste places and in river sandbanks and wet places in West Africa. It grows from sea level to uplands. It grows to 1,200 m above sea level. It grows in flooded rice fields.
Where It Grows
Africa, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ethiopia, Europe, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Southern Africa, South America*, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Cultivation
A widespread and locally common weed in Africa.
Other Information
A minor vegetable.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Boro-boro-be, Boro-boro-faro, Boro-boro, Iyi kuri, Kiringere, Nama, Nikawi, Shash
References (5)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew.
- Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 83
- Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 369
- Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 218
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
