Amaranthaceae FAMILY

Achyranthes aspera

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Achyranthes aspera is a much-branched herbaceous annual to perennial plant, with stems that can become somewhat woody. It can grow from 30 - 200cm tall[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. , 372 Title Flowers of India Publication Author Website http://www.flowersofindia.net/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars. , 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ]. An important medicinal plant in parts of Asia[ 272 Title Plants and People of Nepal Publication Author Manandhar. N. P. Publisher Timber Press. Oregon. Year 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6 Description Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses. ], it is also cultivated as a food crop in China[ 179 Title Famine Foods listed in the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Publication Author Reid. B. E. Publisher Southern Materials Centre; Taipei Year 1977 ISBN - Description A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating. ]. The plant has escaped from cultivation and become invasive on several Pacific Islands[ 305 Title Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk Publication Author Website http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands. ]. The seed body sticks to fur and clothing, and the plant is thus transported to fresh locations[ 459 Title The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam Publication Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol 9 Author Safford W.E. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ Publisher Smithsonian Institute; Washington. Year 1905 ISBN Description A very comprehensive, if rather dated, guide to the plants of Guam. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangeWidespread through the tropics and subtropics of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

HabitatOpen dry places at elevations up to 2,000 metres in Nepal[ 272 Title Plants and People of Nepal Publication Author Manandhar. N. P. Publisher Timber Press. Oregon. Year 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6 Description Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses. ]. Secondary regrowth, at forest edges, in thickets, open grassland, along forest trails, seasonal swamps and dried-up watercourses, at elevations up to 3,000 metres in Tanzania[ 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ].