Pilea glaberrima

(Blume) Blume

Hare gageleto, Gugeo

UrticaceaeLeaves

gbif · cc-by
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Vegetable

The tender leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

Where to Find It

A subtropical plant. It grows in Nepal between 300-2000 m altitude. In Indonesia it grows between 1,000-2,000 m above sea level. It grows in moist, rocky places. In Yunnan.

Asia, Bhutan, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Sikkim,

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 herb. It grows about 1 m high. The leaves have stalks. The leaves are oval to sword shaped. They taper to the tip. They have 3 veins. They narrow towards the base. The flowers are white or yellow. The fruit is dry and smooth.

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seed or root offshoots.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Notes

There are about 250 species but 600 Pilea species have been named. They occur in tropical and warm temperate regions. Many in the tropics have not yet been described.

Names & Synonyms

Guge ao, Popohan

Urtica glaberrima Bl.Pilea goglado Bl.Urtica goglado Buch.-Ham. ex Wall.Pilea smilacifolia Wedd.

References (14)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 455
Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 44
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
Flora of China @ efloras.org Volume 5
Kays, S. J., and Dias, J. C. S., 1995, Common Names of Commercially Cultivated Vegetables of the World in 15 languages. Economic Botany, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 115-152
Manandhar, N.P., 2002, Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press. Portland, Oregon. p 364
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 223
Murtem, G. & Chaudhrey, P., 2016, An ethnobotanical note on wild edible plants of Upper Eastern Himalaya, India. Brazilian Journal of Biological Sciences, 2016, v. 3, no. 5, p. 63-81
Mus. Bot. 2:54. 1856
Ochse, J. J. et al, 1931, Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. Asher reprint. p 721
Srivastava, R. C., 2010, Traditional knowledge of Nyishi (Daffla) tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 9(1):26-37
Thothathri, K., & Pal, G.D., 1987, Further Contribution to the Ethnobotany of Subansiri District, Aranchal Pradesh. J. Econ. Tax. Bot. Vol. 10 No. 1 pp 149-157
Wiersema, J. H. & Leon, B., 2013, World Economic Plants. A Standard Reference CRC Press. 2nd Ed. p 527
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew