Pavonia odorata
Willd.
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(c) Lalithamba, some rights reserved (CC BY)
(c) Lalithamba, some rights reserved (CC BY)
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Faeezah Faeezah, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Faeezah Faeezah, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Fruit
The leaves are eaten raw, and the fruit is also edible.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. They grow in dry places.
Africa, Asia, East Africa, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, SE Asia, Sri Lanka,
Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, China, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How to Identify
A slightly woody herb. The leaves are oval or heart shaped. They are 3-5 angled. They are 4-6 cm long by 5-7 cm wide. The flowers are in the axils. The fruit are round, smooth and do not have wings.
Notes
There are about 250 Pavonia species. They grow in the tropics and subtropics.
Names & Synonyms
Avibattam, Bala, Balarakkasi, Chitti benda, Erra, Hribera, Kalavala, Kalowalo, Kotle ara, Kuruntotti, Kuti, Naguri ara, Peramutiberu, Peramutti, Sugandha-bala, Sukantha bala, Tige benda
Hibiscus oligosandrus Buch.-Ham.Pavonia romborua Wall.Pavonia rosea Wall.
References (6)
- Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 435
- Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 1708
- Flora of Pakistan. www.eFloras.org
- Pullaiah, Y., Krishnamurthy, K. V. & Bahadur, B., (Eds.), 2016, Ethnobotany of India, Volume 1: Eastern Ghats and Deccan.
- Singh, H.B., Arora R.K.,1978, Wild edible Plants of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. p 32
- Sp. pl. 3(1):837. 1800
