Olax acuminata — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The leaves are cooked and eaten with fish and meat, or prepared in curry.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in the rainforest below 500 m altitude in S China. It occurs in Yunnan.

Asia, Bhutan, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Myanmar, Northeastern India, SE Asia,

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 shrub. It grows 5 m tall. The branches do not have thorns. They are yellow. The leaf stalk is 3-7 mm long. The leaf blade is oblong to sword shaped and 6-10 cm long by 2.5-3.5 cm wide. It is papery. It is rounded or wedge shaped at the base and tapers to the tip. There are 9-11 veins. The flower racemes are in the axils of leaves. They are 1-1.5 cm long. There are 3-8 flowers. There are 3 yellow petals. The fruit is fleshy with a hard covering over the seed. It is oval and covered half way by the calyx. It is 1.5-1.8 cm across and orange.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seeds.

Notes

There are about 40 Olax species. They are tropical.

Names & Synonyms

Bol-narang, Dieng-tilut, Dieng-tyrut, Hanboka, Han-boka, Han-kanoj, Han-misang, Jian ye tie qing shu, Moen, Pachilaing, Yaolai

References (11)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 406
Dobriyal, M. J. R. & Dobriyal, R., 2014, Non Wood Forest Produce an Option for Ethnic Food and Nutritional Security in India. Int. J. of Usuf. Mngt. 15(1):17-37
Ethnobotany of Karbis. Chapter 4 in p 84
Flora of China @ efloras.org Volume 5
Kar, A., & Borthakur, S. K., 2008, Wild vegetables of Karbi - Anglong district, Assam, Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 7(5), pp 448-460
Medhi, P., Sarma, A and Borthakur, S. K., 2014, Wild edible plants from the Dima Hasao district of Assam, India. Pleione 8(1): 133-148
Phangchopi, U., et al, 2015, Diversity of wild edible plants in Marat Longri Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam. Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources Vol. 6(4), December 2015 pp. 305-313
Sawian, J. T., et al, 2007, Wild edible plants of Meghalaya, North-east India. Natural Product Radiance Vol. 6(5): p 419
Schatz, G.E., 2001, Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. p 293 (Genus)
Singh, H.B., Arora R.K.,1978, Wild edible Plants of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. p 31
Teron, R. & Borthakur, S. K., 2016, Edible Medicines: An Exploration of Medicinal Plants in Dietary Practices of Karbi Tribal Population of Assam, Northeast India. In Mondal, N. & Sen, J.(Ed.) Nutrition and Health among tribal populations of India. p 153