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Euphorbiaceae FAMILY

Omphalea diandra

Omphalea diandra

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although the family Euphorbiaceae contains a very high percentage of poisonous plants, the seeds of this and several other species in the genus Omphalea are an exception to the rule, with several of them being considered wholesome and being eaten by humans. Some caution should be employed, however, since there are often warnings about how they should be eaten. Some reports, for example, say that the seeds taste good, but eating any more than two of them will have a purgative effect[1]. Another says that the seed is wholesome, but the embryo needs to be removed because it is deleterious[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Climber
Growth—

Not known

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Omphalea+diandra>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  2. [2]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  3. [3]Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 54 — Missouri Botanical Garden · 1967 ↩︎An excellent botanical publication, available for download from the Internet. This volume contains parts of the Flora of Panama.
  4. [4]Fruits of the Guianan Flora — van Roosmalen. M.G.M. · Institute of Systematic Boyany, Utrecht University; Netherlands. · 1985 · ISBN 90-9000988-4 ↩︎Terse descriptions of over 1,700 species from the Guianas that bear fruits - not necessarily edible! Often mentions if the fruit is edible, plus gives brief description of habit and habitat.
  5. [5]Les Plantes Utiles des Colonies Françaises — J.-L. De Lanessan (Editor) · 1886 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/Default.aspx ↩︎Information on the useful plants of the Frech colonies towards the end of the 19th century. Many botanical names have changed, but the information remains valid and is often not easy to find elsewhwere. It can be downloaded from the Internet
  6. [6]Handbook of S. American Indians. — Steward J. H. (Editor) · US Government Printing Office; Washington · 1946 - 1950 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎In six volumes, a detailed look at the native peoples of S. America - their culture, lifestyle, use of plants etc,