Common Name:

General Information

Aerva leucura is a herbaceous, perennial woolly herb, with stems up to 1 metre tall that often become woody at the base. The plant can be erect, or low and spreading, the slender stems simple or branched[, ].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental in gardens.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern and southern Africa - Uganda and Kenya, south through Tanzania, Zambia and southern Angola to S. Africa.

Habitat

Found in a variety of habitats from disturbed ground to deciduous bushland, woodland and forest edges, rocky places, open stream sides, at elevations from 600 - 1,700 metres in Tanzania[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.75 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Grows best in a sunny position[]. Prefers a well-drained, loamy soil[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked and used as a vegetable[, ]. Young leaves are chopped and boiled alone or mixed with other vegetables such as peas or pumpkin leaves and served with ugali. Sometimes tomatoes, onions, edible oil or a paste of groundnuts are added in order to improve palatability[]. These leaves are only used seasonally before cultivated vegetables are in good supply on farms. It is a substitute for other, more preferred vegetables[].

Medicinal

The roots are used for treating snakebite[]. The roots are used for treating piles and as a blood purifier[].


The pounded leaves are mixed with porridge and drunk in order to curtail lactation in women who have lost their babies[].

Other Uses

The dry flowers have been used to stuff pillows[].

Propagation

Seed -
Cuttings of the new shoots as new growth commences. The cuttings root fast and are usually ready to plant out within 3 months[].

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