Okinawa Spinach, Redflower Ragleaf, Fireweed
Crassocephalum crepidioides

Family: Asteraceae

What it is like

Okinawa Spinach, Crassocephalum crepidioides, is a tropical, upright, herb with thick and soft stem and alternate leaves. It makes an excellent spinach substitute. Its flowers are yellow and reddish and fruits are dark brown with long silky hairs at the end. It is commonly found in Papua New Guinea and in many other tropical countries. The leaves are used for indigestion, headaches, fresh wounds, nose bleeding, and sleeping sickness. The roots are used in the treatment of swollen lips. Aside from the medicinal uses, the leaves are also edible either raw or cooked. It is used as a vegetable. The roots are eaten with chilli sauce in Thailand. It may also be known as Gynura crepioides (a Synonym)

Crassocephalum crepidioides is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in) by 0.3 m (1ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 0.8

Where it is found

A weed in abandoned farm land, waste places, plantations and backyard gardens.

Through most of tropical Africa, it has become naturalised in many other parts of the Tropics.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, China, Congo DR, Cote d'Ivoire, East Africa, East Timor, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, GuinŽe, Guinea-Bissau, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norfolk Island, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tibet, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Tonga, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

A commercially cultivated vegetable. Leaves - raw or cooked. A distinctive, pine-like flavour. The leaves are fleshy, somewhat mucilaginous with a nutty flavour. The tender and succulent leaves and stems of ebolo are mucilaginous and are used as a vegetable in soups and stews, especially in West and Central Africa. It is much appreciated for its special flavour, which is sharp but not bitter. It is especially popular in south-western Nigeria. Here the leaves are lightly blanched, excess water is drained off, and the leaves are then cooked with peppers, onions, tomatoes, melon and sometimes fish or meat to make soups and stews. In Sierra Leone the leaves are also popular and are made into a sauce with groundnut paste. In Australia it is eaten as a salad green, either cooked or raw. Roots - eaten with chilli sauce in Thailand.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The leaves are used to treat indigestion. The leaf sap is given to treat upset stomach. A leaf lotion or decoction is used to treat headaches. A mixture of the leaf sap, combined with Cymbopogon giganteus, is used orally and externally for the treatment of epilepsy. Applied externally, the leaf sap is used as a treatment for fresh wounds. The dried leaf powder is applied as a snuff to stop nose bleeding and smoked to treat sleeping sickness. Tannin found in the roots of the plant is used to treat swollen lips.

Epilepsy: Used in the treatment of Epilepsy - a disorder in which nerve cell activity in the brain is disturbed, causing seizures.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.

Other

Rating: 2

Agroforestry Uses: Crassocephalum crepidioides has been used successfully as a trap plant to collect adult corm weevils in banana plantations. Other Uses: Fodder/animal feed.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.

Tannin: An astringent substance obtaied from plants, it is used medicinally, as a dye and mordant, stabilizer in pesticide etc.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Grows well in soils that are rich in organic matter. An easy to grow vegetable, especially suited to shady localities in home gardens and tree plantations. Often cultivated as a food crop in the tropics, the plant has light, plumed seeds that are easily distributed by the wind. It has escaped from cultivation in many areas and become an invasive weed in some places.

Propagating it: Seed and Cuttings.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Classified as one of the most aggressive weeds occurring in tropical and subtropical regions in the Global Compendium of Weeds.

Its other names

Local names

Other common names are ebolo, redflower rag leaf, thickhead, and fireweed, Okinawa Spinach, Crassocephalum crepidioides. Also known as: Ebolo; fireweed; thickhead. Chinese: ye tong hao. Fiji: pua lele; se vuka. Indonesia: jukut jamalok. Japan: benibanaborogiku. Java: jewor; sintrong. Papua New Guinea: thick head. Philippines: bulak manok. Samoa: fua lele; vao lele. Thailand: phak pet maeo. Tonga: fisi puna. Other names: Agologolo, A ngung, Doyan-doyan, Ekinami, Gbuluh fuka, Guan dong weu niu, Hogegain, Impingi, Ingiri, Limbiti, Lisahuka, Marakapon, Miao kuo, Phak kaad chang, Phakkoat chaang, Rau tau bay, Sandeko, Udu daya, Voi ngoai, Wondally, Yaxiehu.

Synonyms

Crassocephalum diversifolium Hiern Gynura crepidioides Benth. Gynura diversifolia Sch.Bip. ex Asch.