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Portulacaceae FAMILY

Talinum fruticosum

Talinum fruticosum

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

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[1]. 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[1]. 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[1]. Waterleaf is rich in saponins, which are poorly absorbed and removed in the cooking process[1, PFAF].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
GrowthFast

Grows best in the moist humid conditions of lowland tropical areas, though it can succeed at elevations up to 1,000 metres[2]. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature is within the range 22 - 30 °c, though it can tolerate 15 - 36 °c[3]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, tolerating 500 - 3,000mm[3]. Light shade can improve leaf production[2]. Prefers a well-drained but moist, humus-rich fertile soil, though it will succeed in relatively poor soils[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6.5 but can tolerate 4.5 - 7[3]. Plants are relatively tolerant of drought, adopting a crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), resulting in an effective use of available moisture, with carbon dioxide assimilation continuing during the night, and increased growth[1]. Waterleaf was probably originally native of tropical America, it has now become a weed with pantropical distribution[3]. It can become a weed in cultivated or disturbed land, including roadsides and near homesteads, but few farmers worry about it since its roots are shallow and the plant is easy to remove[1]. Plants grown in short day-length conditions rarely exceed 45cm in height[2]. The first harvest can take place about 35 - 45 days after sowing the seed and continues every two weeks for about 1 year[2]. Yields have been estimated to about 10 kilos per square metre of crop[3]. The yield range is 10 - 60 tonnes per hectare[1]. There are some named varieties[2]. This species photosynthesize by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ or in a nursery seedbed. The small seeds are usually mixed with a fine sand before sowing[1]. Germination takes place after about 5 days and subsequent growth is very rapid if adequate water is supplied. Seedlings can be transplanted into their permanent positions when 3 weeks old[1]. Cuttings of young shoots 15 - 20cm long root readily[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Talinum+fruticosum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  2. [2]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]Lost Crops of the Incas — Popenoe. H. et al · National Academy Press · 1990 · ISBN 0-309-04264-X ↩︎An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  6. [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎