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Botany
An annual
herb, shallow rooted, may reach 40 cm high, with succulent stems.
Leaves are alternate, heart-shaped and turgid, as transparent
and smooth as candle wax. Tiny dotlike flowers scattered along
solitary and leaf-opposed stalk (spike); naked; maturing gradually
from the base to the tip; turning brown when ripe. Propagation
by seeds. Numerous tiny seeds drop off when mature and grow easily
in clumps and groups in damp areas.
Distribution
An annual
herb, favoring shady, damp and loose soil.
Often grows in groups in nooks in the garden and yard.
Conspicious in rocky parts of canals.
Parts
utilized
Leaves and
stems.
Uses
Nutritional
Leaves and
stems may be eaten as vegetable.
In salads, the fresh plant has the crispness of carrot sticks
and celery.
Folkloric
Infusion
and decoction of leaves and stems are used for gout and arthritis.
Externally, as a facial rinse for complexion problems.
Pounded whole plant used as warm poultice for boils, pustules
and pimples.
New
uses
Belongs to
the "preferred list" of Philippine medicinal plants,
being studied for its use in the treatment of arthritis and gout.
For arthritis: Leaves and stems of the fresh plant may be eaten
as salad. Or, as an infusion, put a 20-cm plant in 2 glasses
of boiling water; and 1/2 cup of this infusion is taken morning
and evening.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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