Hale's pentodon
Pentodon pentandrus

Family: Rubiaceae

What it is like

A straggling herb. It is partly succulent. It grows each year from seeds or can last a few years. It has a slender rootstock. The stems are 90 cm long. The leaves are opposite and simple. They do not have leaf stalks. The leaves are very narrowly oval and 2-8 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. The flowers are in rings in the axils of leaves. There are 1-4 flowers in a group. The flowers have both sexes and are small. The fruit is a capsule 2-4 mm long and has many seeds. The seeds are small, angular and black.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in wet muddy sites in West Africa and most of Africa. It grows from sea level to 2,250 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa (country/location of origin), Arabia, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Central Africa, Central America, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, East Africa, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, USA, West Africa, West Indies

How it is used for food

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

A famine food. It is a minor vegetable.

Edible parts

Leaves, stem, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Bubuampere, Buburanya

Synonyms

Hedyotis pentandra Schumach. & Thonn.; Oldenlandia macrophylla DC.; Oldenlandia pentandra (Schumach. & Thonn.) DC.;