Laportea aestuans

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Vegetable

The slightly mucilaginous leaves are often eaten as a vegetable and in soups. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in waste places and can grow on walls. In southern Africa is grows between 250-1,000 m altitude.

Africa, Asia, Bahamas, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central America*, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Lesser Antilles*, Madagascar, Malawi, Middle East, Mozambique, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, South America*, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Suriname, Taiwan, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies*, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

How to Identify

A herb. It grows 1.5 m high. The stems are woody below and fleshy above. There are leaves in the upper part. The stem is covered with stinging hairs. The leaves are 10-15 cm long by 8-12 cm wide. They are broadly oval. They taper to the tip. The leaves have stinging hairs. The flowering groups have flowers of both sexes.

Nutrition Score: 37/100

How to Grow

Usually found in partially shaded positions in the wild. A very common plant in Africa, where it is often considered a weed..

Medicinal Uses

The plant is widely used in African traditional medicine, though little research has been carried out into its medicinal properties. A methanol extract, before and after filtering through charcoal, and various fractions were assayed against 12 species of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Extracts were active against 7 of them, especially Staphylococcus aureus. In subsequent phytochemical screenings, reactions were positive for steroids, but negative for alkaloids, flavonoids and anthraquinones. The pulped whole plant is eaten or the plant sap is drunk as an anthelmintic and for the treatment of hernias. Applied externally, the pulp is rubbed on the body in the treatment of fevers in children, oedema and ulcers. Dried and powdered, the plant is rubbed into scarifications as a treatment for headaches and syphilitic yaws. The leaves are diuretic and laxative. They are often eaten as a vegetable or in a soup to treat digestive disorders including stomach aches, indigestion and constipation. An infusion of the leaf is taken for the treatment of urine retention, bed wetting, haemorrhages, filariasis, rheumatism and menopausal disorders. The leaf is roasted then ground in water and the liquid drunk as a treatment for gonorrhoea; leucorrhoea is treated in the same way but without roasting the leaf first. The boiled leaves, pounded with clay and water, are applied in enemas as a treatment against dysentery. The leaves are used externally to treat a range of conditions, As a sap, often mixed with palm oil or kaolin, they are applied to abscesses and wounds; on the head of children to close the fontanel; on the abdomen to ease childbirth; and on the gums to relieve toothache. A maceration of the fresh leaf is used to massage the body for the treatment of intercostal pain and stitches in the side. Slightly scorched or smoked, the leaves are applied to burns and used against migraine. A leaf decoction is applied on swellings; instilled in the eye to treat minor eye infections; and used as an embrocation to strengthen rachitic children and to relieve fever. A decoction of the leaf and root is drunk as an antidote to any case of poisoning. The inflorescence, combined with the seed of Aframomum melegueta, is eaten as a treatment for sore throat and hoarseness.

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the stem is used for making thread, string and rope. The bark yields 45% fibre, which is irregularly distributed in the bark, it is white and does not contain any lignin; tensile strength is low; degumming is moderately easy. In Costa Rica and Martinique, this species has been shown to be a host for root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), which are pests in banana plantations. It is also a host of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV).

Laportea aestuans (Urtica aestuans), the West Indian woodnettle, is an annual herb of the Urticaceae or nettle family. It is possibly native to tropical Africa, although it now is widespread as an introduced species throughout both the western hemisphere and eastern hemisphere tropics and subtropics, including the USA (California, Florida, Puerto Rico), Central America, the West Indies, India, Sumatra and Java. Laportea aestuans is a food plant for an edible snail, Archachatina ventricosa, native to parts of coastal West Africa. It is a weedy species in Taiwan. It is a possible host reservoir in Nigeria for African cassava mosaic virus, an important plant pest of a major African food crop, Manihot esculenta or cassava.

Notes

There are 50 Laportea species.

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