Polygala persicariifolia

DC.

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Vegetable

The leaves are eaten as a vegetable and are traditionally used in Nepal for making fermenting cake from which liquor is distilled.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. In Nepal it grows between 700-1900 m altitude. It grows in shady places. In West Africa it grows in savannah areas. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, East Africa, Guinea, Guinée, Himalayas, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nigeria, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, West Africa, Zambia,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Australia, 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, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Palau, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A hairy annual herb. It grows about 45 cm high. The leaves have short stalks. They are oblong. The flowers are yellow. They are in open flower clusters in the axils of leaves and at the ends of branches. The fruit is a capsule. It is oblong.

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seed.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Polygala persicariifolia is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is native to east Africa and Asia.

Notes

There are about 600 Polygala species.

Names & Synonyms

Bijakanne

Polygala buchanani D.DonPolygala wallichiana Wight

References (7)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew.
Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 83
Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 564
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 95
Manandhar, N.P., 2002, Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press. Portland, Oregon. p 374
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 213
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew