Acalypha ornata
Hochst. ex A Rich.
Zambezi false-nettle
(c) robburrett, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Graeme White, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Graeme White
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Vegetable, Plant - salt
Young leaves are cooked as a vegetable—either chopped and cooked alone or pounded with other vegetables. The plant is also dried, burned, and processed to produce salt.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It is mostly in thickets and along the edges of rivers. It is at low and medium altitudes. It Malawi it can be between 100-1,300 m altitudes. In Ethiopia it grows between 600-700 m above sea level.
Africa, Angola, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.
How to Grow
It can be grown from seeds or by cuttings.
Propagation: Seed - Cuttings
Medicinal Uses
The plant is used in traditional medicine.
Other Uses
The stems are woven into baskets and fish-traps. The leaves are covered by soft sticky hairs and the bracts similarly covered together forming a cup perhaps act as insect-traps.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Acalypha ornata is a species in the botanical family Euphorbiaceae. In Africa it is widely used as a medicinal plant. The stems are used as fibres for weaving baskets. The leaves are eaten as a vegetable; the plants are also fed to domestic animals. Acalypha ornata is sometimes planted as an ornamental plant.
Notes
There are over 450 Acalypha species. They are tropical. There are 225 in tropical America. It is used in medicine.
Names & Synonyms
Atinotur, Atiyhomerpap, Chigaga, Kirijaj, Mfulwe, Mukunyukunyu, Nhaucusse, Sinamananelo
References (14)
- Awas, T., 1997, A Study on the Ecology and Ethnobotany of Non-cultivated Food Plants and Wild Relatives of Cultivated crops in Gambella Region, Southwestern Ethiopia. Addis Ababa University. p 48
- Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 24
- Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 559
- Jansen, P.C.M., 2004. Acalypha bipartita Müll.Arg. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 13 October 2009.
- Lulekal, E., et al, 2011, Wild edible plants in Ethiopia: a review on their potential to combat food insecurity. Afrika Focus - Vol. 24, No 2. pp 71-121
- Msuya, T. S., et al, 2010, Availability, Preference and Consumption of Indigenous Foods in the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 49:3, 208-227
- Pickering, H., & Roe, E., 2009, Wild Flowers of the Victoria Falls Area. Helen Pickering, London. p 60
- Roodt, V., 1998, Trees & Shrubs of the Okavango Delta. Medicinal Uses and Nutritional value. The Shell Field Guide Series: Part 1. Shell Botswana. p 194
- Ruffo, C. K., Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B., 2002, Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania. RELMA p 94
- von Katja Rembold, 2011, Conservation status of the vascular plants in East African rain forests. Dissertation Universitat Koblenz-Landau
- White, F., Dowsett-Lemaire, F. and Chapman, J. D., 2001, Evergreen Forest Flora of Malawi. Kew. p 241
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- www.zimbabweflora.co.zw 2011
- Yimer, A., et al, 2021, Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants used by Meinit Ethnic Community at Bench-Maji Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Research Square. p 6
