Persicaria nepalensis
Persicaria nepalensis
Safety & Hazards
Although no specific mention has been made for this species, there have been reports that some members of this genus can cause photosensitivity in susceptible people. Many species also contain oxalic acid (the distinctive lemony flavour of sorrel) - whilst not toxic this substance can bind up other minerals making them unavailable to the body and leading to mineral deficiency. Having said that, a number of common foods such as sorrel and rhubarb contain oxalic acid and the leaves of most members of this genus are nutritious and beneficial to eat in moderate quantities. Cooking the leaves will reduce their content of oxalic acid. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition[ 238 Title Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Publication Author Bown. D. Publisher Dorling Kindersley, London. Year 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31 Description A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant. ].
Botanical Description
Persicaria nepalensis is a slender, spreading or procumbent annual plant, usually forming new roots at the leaf nodes; it can grow up to 50cm tall[ 308 Title Flora Zambesiaca Publication Author Website http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. Persicaria nepalensis produces an abundance of seed and can spread freely as a weed in crops, being especially abundant in tea plantations and amongst a range of annual crops. The plant is believed to have originated in the Himalayas but it is now quite widespread, across the Asian, African and American continents and also in the Pacific, but is apparently limited, as a significant weed, to high altitude tropics. Why it does not occur more commonly in temperate lowlands, which have roughly comparable temperature regimes is not clear. It can persist sporadically, in temperate regions, even as far north as the UK but is not reported as a weed problem. The plant is shallow-rooted and readily removed by manual or hoe weeding[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ]..