Orthanthera viminea
Wight
Mahur, Khip, Chapkia
Wikimedia Commons - A. J. T. Johnsingh, WWF-India and NCF
What to Eat
Edible parts: Flower buds
The flower buds are eaten as a vegetable.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant. It grows in Kashmir in India and Pakistan. It grows up to 1,000 m above sea level.
Asia, Himalayas, India, Nepal, Pakistan,
How to Identify
A shrub. It grows up to 2.5 m high. The young shoots are softly hairy. It often does not have leaves. The leaves are 5 cm long by 4 mm wide. The flowers are in woolly stalked clusters. The fruit are follicles 8-12 cm long by 5 mm wide. They are straight and smooth. The seeds are 3-4 mm long and dark brown and flat.
Other Uses
The fibres of the stem are used for rope making. The long, slender, leafless, wand-like stems, 3 metres or more in length, furnish a bast fibre of remarkable tenacity, suitable for rope making. The unsteeped stalks are made into ropes for Persian wheels, a purpose for which they are admirably adapted, as they do not rot readily from moisture. It is often used in conjunction with the fibre obtained from Leptadenia spartium. The white wood is soft with faint, light, concentric bands. A conspicuous leafless plant of the 'rau' beds of the Siwaliks and sub-Himalayan tract; useful in helping to check the torrents.
References (3)
- Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 413
- Flora of Pakistan.
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 453
