Helichrysum luteoalbum
(L.) Rchb.
Jersey Cudweed
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(c) kbormann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) kbormann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) kbormann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A small herb. It can grow a few cm or 60 cm high. The whole plant has a white covering. The leaves are sword shaped and narrow. They are woolly and stalkless. The flower heads occur in dense clusters at the top of the plant. There can also be smaller clusters in the axils of leaves lower down. The flowers are a pale whitish yellow. They are surrounded by shiny bracts which are green near their bases. A head consists of many female flowers and a few bisexual disk flowers.
Edible Uses
The leaves are eaten fresh as a leafy green vegetable, used as a relish, or cooked and added to porridge.
Traditional Uses
The leaves are used as relish. They are also cooked and eaten. The fresh leaves are eaten as a leafy green. The leaves are also cooked and added to porridge.
Medicinal Uses
In Vietnam, the plant is used as a food ingredient, such as in the rice cake banh khuc. It has also been used in traditional medicine of the region, as a diuretic, hemostatic, antipyretic, for the treatment of cough, and for pain relief.
Distribution
It is a subtropical plant. It grows in well-drained dry sandy soils. In Africa it grows between 5-3,850 m above sea level. It can grow in mountain grassland as well as along the edges of streams. It often grows in poor sites. It is often close to water. It can grow in arid places. Tasmania Herbarium. In Sichuan,
Where It Grows
Afghanistan, Africa, Africa, Algeria, Angola, Asia, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Britain, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Caucasus, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central Asia, Chad, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, East Africa, Egypt, Equatorial-Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Europe, France, Germany, Greece, Himalayas, Hungary, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Middle East, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, North America, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Sinai, South Africa, Southern Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, USA, Vietnam, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Notes
There are about 200 Gnaphalium species.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Bal raksha, Muluvi-luvi, Umgilane
References (21)
- Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 241 (As Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum)
- Blamey, M and Grey-Wilson, C., 2005, Wild flowers of the Mediterranean. A & C Black London. p 436 (As Pseudognaphalium luteo-album)
- Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 501
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
- Curtis, W.M., 1963, The Students Flora of Tasmania Vol 2 p 318
Show all 21 references Hide references
- Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 564
- Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Cousens, R.D., Dodd, J., Lloyd, S.G., 1997, Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. Plant Protection Society of Western Australia. p 102
- Kuo, W. H. J., (Ed.) Taiwan's Ethnobotanical Database (1900-2000), http://tk.agron.ntu.edu.tw/ethnobot/DB1.htm
- Lamp, C & Collet F., 1989, Field Guide to Weeds in Australia. Inkata Press. p 131
- Lazarides, M. & Hince, B., 1993, Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia, CSIRO. p 122
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Mason, 1971,
- Mot So Rau Dai an Duoc O Vietnam. Wild edible Vegetables. Ha Noi 1994, p 88
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 92
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- Plowes, N. J. & Taylor, F. W., 1997, The Processing of Indigenous Fruits and other Wildfoods of Southern Africa. in Smartt, L. & Haq. (Eds) Domestication, Production and Utilization of New Crops. ICUC p 191 (As Gnaphalium luteoalbum)
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 11th April 2011] (As Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum)
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 36
- Sp. pl. 2:851. 1753 "luteo-album"
- Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
