This species is sometimes confused with Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., which has the same habit[].

Common Name:

General Information

Merremia emarginata is a perennial, prostrate plant with slender stems 30 - 75cm long that usually form roots at the nodes[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - scattered from Mauritania to Ethiopia, south to Angola, Tanzania; E. Asia - China and India to the Phillipines and New Guinea

Habitat

Open grasslands and fields, along railroads and waste places, on rather heavy soils; at elevations from sea-level up to 200 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.25 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the tropics, it grows in areas where there is a rather strong to very strong dry season[].

Edible Uses

Young shoots - cooked and eaten as a pot herb[]. Young leaves are fried with groundnut oil and other spices and used with bread, called "Roti" made from Sorghum flour[]. The leaves are also used in soups[].

Medicinal

The leaves and young shoots are alterative, deobstruent, diuretic, laxative and purgative[, ]. They are used in the treatment of rheumatism, neuralgia and headache[]. An infusion of the leaves, added to lumps of sugar, is used as a remedy for cough[]. A decoction of the leaves and tops is sometimes used as a diuretic[].

The juice of the aerial parts is dropped into the ear to cure sores, abscesses and ulcers[, ].

The root is used to treat diseases of the eyes and gums[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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