Amaranthaceae FAMILY

Aerva lanata

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Aerva lanata is a perennial herb, frequently becoming more or less woody at the base. The stems can be erect to prostrate, sometimes scrambling or climbing into other plants for support; they can be stiff or weak and straggling, growing from 30 - 200cm long[ 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. ]. The plant is gathered from the wild for local medicinal use and the leaves are sometimes used for food. The leaves are often used as food in Sri Lanka, where they are sold in local markets[ 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 in the tropics and subtropics of Africa through Asia to the Philippines and New Guinea.

HabitatOpen forest on mountain slopes, on waste and disturbed ground, deserted cultivation and coastal scrub from sea-level to 1,490 metres[ 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. ].