Sphenoclea zeylanica (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertner

Family: Campanulaceae

Vernacular names

• Wedgewort, gooseweed (En)
• Indonesia: gunda
• Philippines: burat-aso (Tagalog), mais-mais (Bisaya)
• Cambodia: kâm'-péén tük
• Laos: kaad naa
• Thailand: phakpot-na
• Vietnam: cỏ phổng, xà bông.

Distribution

Native to tropical Africa, but now distributed pantropically, including South-East Asia.

Uses

The bitter, young shoots or young plants are eaten in Java and Thailand.

Observations

• Annual, erect, simple or branched herb, up to 1.5 m tall with hollow stem.
• Leaves spirally arranged, glabrous; petiole up to 3 cm long; leaf-blade oblong to lanceolate-oblong, 2.5-12.5 cm × 0.5-5 cm.
• Flowers in conical-cylindrical spikes up to 7.5 cm long.

In humid soils up to 350 m altitude. A common weed in rice fields. The habit much resembles Phytolacca species.

Selected sources

7, 33, 49, 66, 85, 91.