Euphorbiaceae FAMILY

Acalypha indica

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

Care needs to be taken when using the species as a vegetable as it contains several alkaloids as well as hydrocyanic acid[ 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. ].

Botanical Description

Acalypha indica is an erect, annual to sometimes short-lived perennial herb that usually grows up to 1.5 metres tall with occasional specimens to 2.5 metres[ 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. ]. An important medicinal plant in the Indian Ocean islands as well as in India, where it is also cultivated for its edible shoots[ 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. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeAfrica - Senegal to Somalia, south to S. Africa; E. Asia - Indian subcontinent, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea

HabitatHot, low to medium altitude, sandy margins of rivers, seasonal water courses and pans, usually in shade of thickets, also on rocky hillsides and rocky outcrops, often in disturbed ground and as a weed of cultivation, 125 - 1000 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. ].