Blepharis linariifolia
Pers.
AcanthaceaeSeeds/Nuts
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(c) Marco Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
(c) Marco Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds
The seeds are boiled in milk and taken as a tonic.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in drier regions and the Sahara.
Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, India, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sahara, Senegal, Sudan, West Africa,
Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How to Identify
A low-growing wiry herb reaching about 30 cm high with prickly bracts. It is a tropical plant found in drier regions and the Sahara.
How to Grow
A plant for the drier areas of the tropics and subtropics.
Medicinal Uses
The seeds are boiled in milk and taken as a tonic.
Other Uses
The spiny bracts are used to trace patterns on earthenware before firing.
Names & Synonyms
Bhangari, Jasad, Untkantalo
Blepharis sindica T. Anders
References (7)
- Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 75
- Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 59
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 3. Kew.
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 39
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 43
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
