Zaleya decandra — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows near Mumbai. It grows in wet places.

Asia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Timor,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A herb. It is succulent and lies along the ground. The stems are long, angular and branched. The leaves are simple and opposite. They are 2-4 cm long by 1-2 cm wide and unequal. The flowers are 4 mm across and without petals. They are in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit is a 4 seeded capsule. It is 4.5 mm long. It has a cap that opens releasing the seeds. The seeds are kidney shaped and 1.5 mm across.

Nutrition Score: 39/100

Part	Moisture	kJ	kcal	Protein	Vit A	Vit C	Iron	Zinc
Leaves	91.3	100	24	2	—	70	38.5	—

How to Grow

It can be grown by seeds or cuttings.

Production

Harvested leaves can only be stored for a few days.

Other Information

Famine food

Names & Synonyms

Bhadurai keerai, Bilikommae, Charanai, Gaija soppu, Ghetuli, Gadabani, Koni dagu, Maha sarana, Pasalai, Tella garjala, Thellagalijeru, Vellai-shaaranai, Vellaisharunnai

Trianthema decandra L.Zaleija decandra (L.) Burm.f.

References (9)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 646 (As Trianthema decandra)
GAMMIE (As Trianthema decandra)
Karthi, Sathya, & Salome, 2014, Uncultivated Edible Greens from Small Millet Farms Tamil Nadu India. IDRC (As Trianthema decandra)
Kuhnlein, H. V., et al, 2009, Indigenous Peoples' food systems. FAO Rome p 193 (As Trianthema decandra)
Mant. pl. 1:70. 1767 (As Trianthema decandra)
Rajapaksha, U., 1998, Traditional Food Plants in Sri Lanka. HARTI, Sri Lanka. p 18 (As Trianthema decandra)
Rasingam, L., 2012, Ethnobotanical studies on the wild edible plants of Irula tribes of Pillur Valley, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. (2012) S1493-S1497
Reddy, K. N. et al, 2007, Traditional knowledge on wild food plants in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. Vol. 6(1): 223-229 (As Trianthema decandra)
Singh, H.B., Arora R.K.,1978, Wild edible Plants of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. p 40 (As Trianthema decandra)