Common Name: African Chickweed

General Information

African chickweed is an erect or prostrate, annual plant with a thin taproot. It is often freely branched from the base with thin stems 2 - 35cm long[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - India, through tropical Asia to Australia, New Caledonia and Micronesia.

Habitat

Locally abundant as a minor weed in cultivated areas, including rice fields and open grasslands, but also in sandy or stony localities, at low and medium altitudes[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.20 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of semi-arid to humid areas of the tropics, growing at low to medium elevations[].

The plant is a minor weed of cultivated ground[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a pot herb[, ]. A bitter flavour[].
Leaves and young shoots. They are cut into small pieces and cooked with salt and chilli, and garnished with mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions in oil[].

Medicinal

The plant is antipyretic, antiseptic, appetizer, emmenagogue, laxative and stomachic[].
The plant is a component of an important folk medicine in Taiwan, which is used as an anticancer, antitoxic and diuretic agent[].

The leaves are used to make a soup that is said to promote the appetite[]. They are also used to treat sprue and mouth infections[].
The leaves are used externally as a poultice for sore legs[].

A decoction of the roots is used to treat eye diseases[].

Mollugogenol A, a triterpene found in the aerial parts of the plant, has been shown to have antifungal activity against Cladosporium cucumerinum; it also exhibits spermicidal action by damaging the sperm membrane through increased lipid peroxidation[].

Other Uses

The whole plant is burnt to make a mosquito repellent[].

Propagation

Seed -

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