Acanthaceae FAMILY

Hygrophila auriculata

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Hygrophila auriculata is an erect, stout, branched or unbranched, annual herb growing 150cm or more tall[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. Occasionally the basal part of the stem is creeping and rooting[ 610 Title Flora of Tropical East Africa Publication Author Beentje H.J. Website http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814 Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 2002 ISBN Description Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. It is cultivated in water beds in west Africa both as a vegetable and for the vegetable salt it can yield[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ], and is sold as a vegetable in the local markets of Sri Lanka[ 1401 Title Vitamin C content of commonly eaten green leafy vegetables in fresh and under different storage conditions Publication Tropical Plant Research 2(3): 240-245, 2015 Author Umaramani M. & Sivakanesan R. Publisher Year 2015 ISBN 2349 - 1183 Description ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeWidespread through tropical Africa; through Asia to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia.

HabitatWet places, often brackish, littoral, estuarine[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. Does well at the edges of seasonal pools or other stagnant water bodies, at elevations from 900 - 2,100 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. ].