Stachytarpheta sp.
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Wikimedia Commons - Nativeplants garden
wikimedia· cc-by-sa
Wikimedia Commons - Nativeplants garden
Description
A small shrub in the Verbenaceae family found in tropical regions.
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Edible Uses
The young pods are edible and occasionally eaten in Javanese vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce, and spicy fish wrapped in papaya or taro leaves in Indonesia, and in papaya salad in Laos and Thailand, where they are known as phak krathin (Thai: ผักกระถิน). In Mexico it is eaten in soups and also inside tacos, it is known as guaje. Cooking is thought to remove most of the poison.
Known Hazards
The seeds of Leucaena leucocephala contain mimosine, an amino acid known to be toxic to nonruminant vertebrates.
Distribution
A tropical plant.
Where It Grows
Africa, Central Africa, Congo,
References (1)
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 104
