skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Malaysian Flowering Herb
At the back of the house this herb? which is flowering is starting to grow over the back wall from my neighbors yard. I saw their maid picking some and then cleaning it in their wet kitchen. At first I thought it was basil from a ways away, but now I'm not so sure looking at the photo. Does anyone know what this herb might be? I wonder if it is something used in Malaysian cooking. Please let me know if you have any ideas so I can pick some and try it out.
Posts
Hi, the plant looked like Asystasia Gangetica..though not sure it is edible but the smaller version of the same species is considered as weeds more than flowering plants. They come in purple, white and yellow. I have lots of the white ones in my garden.Thanks for dropping by my blogs.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I have no clue. But NOT basil. Why don't you ask the person who has been picking it?
ReplyDeleteThanks P3Chandan and One. Looking at photos of Asystasia Gangetica it looks like that might be it! Autumn Belle does a nice post here where you can see the leaves pretty well. http://www.mynicegarden.com/2011/05/asystasia-gangetica-chinese-violet-from.html
ReplyDeleteI saw online that it is eaten in Africa and used also as herbal medicine. See this from wiki:
In some parts of Africa, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable and used as an herbal remedy in traditional African medicine.[7] The leaves are used in many parts of Nigeria for the management of asthma, and scientific investigation has shown justification for this use.[8] It is also used as an ornamental plant.[3]
The maid who picked it doesn't speak english. But, I'll try to somehow communicate with her next time I see her and see what she makes with it. I know she is from Cambodia and the family she lives with is Chinese. Should be interesting to find out.
Hi, I have no idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you for following my kitchen blog! Nice to see you! Have a lovely day!
I saw her today and asked her about the plant. She communicated that she makes soup out of it. I asked if it is a Cambodian soup and she said no, that another woman in our neighborhood pointed out the plant to her and said that it makes good soup. So she made it and she likes it and the family she lives with likes it.
ReplyDeleteI doubt I will make any food with it, but she has said I can cut the plant for some cuttings, so I will use it for some ground cover.
Oh goodness, the horribly weedy Asystasia. In my previous garden, I allowed a stray seedling to grow coz the purple flowers looked pretty. Flowers = seeds and half a year later, I was hacking it down with a 'parang'! It is like the devil incarnate of gardening! They grew up to five feet tall, climbing onto my pagoda flowers, the orchid shed, the chain-link fence and basically anything that they can lean against.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean for letting me know about its invasiveness. I was thinking about putting some along the side of the house which is currently dirt. I might still add it because I need to cover a lot of ground fast. Although I see from your blog that you mention peppermint spreads fast in Malaysia too. Maybe peppermint would be a better option.
ReplyDelete