Talinum fruticosum
Talinum fruticosum
Safety & Hazards
Waterleaf is a mucilaginous vegetable with high calcium oxalate content. The presence of oxalate is a drawback since more than 90% of it is present in a soluble form and it can induce kidney stones if taken in excess. Blanching or cooking removes nearly half of the soluble oxalate[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Waterleaf also contains hydrocyanic acid (which is also destroyed in the cooking process), which is a further reason why this vegetable should be consumed raw in small quantities only and why it is not recommended for livestock[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Caution should also be exercised in the use of this vegetable in infant foods, the more so since it contains nitrates and nitrites, which are not removed by cooking[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Waterleaf is rich in saponins, which are poorly absorbed and removed in the cooking process[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. , K Title Plants for a Future Author Ken Fern Description Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips. ].
Botanical Description
Talinum fruticosum is a short-lived, erect, strongly branched, perennial plant with succulent stems 30 - 100cm tall growing from swollen, fleshy roots[ 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. The plant is often harvsted from the wild for local use as a food. It is also cultivated in various parts of the tropics for its edible leaves, being grown on a particularly large scale in Africa[ 300 Title Vegetables in the Tropics Publication Author Tindall. H. D. Publisher MacMillan, Oxford. Year 1983 ISBN 0-333-24268-8 Description An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants. , 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ]. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental pot plant or as an edging plant in gardens[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ].