Marsh para cress
Acmella uliginosa

Family: Asteraceae

What it is like

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

It is used in medicine.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in wet grassland savannah. It can grow in flooded rice fields. It grows from sea level to 100 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, American Samoa, Asia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guiana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nepal, New Caledonia, Pacific, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South America, Taiwan, Tanzania, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies

How it is used for food

The shoots are steamed or cooked. The flowers and fruit are used as a spice.

Edible parts

Leaves, vegetable, flowers - spice, fruit - spice

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Ansateh, Marehathi

Synonyms

Spilanthes iabadicensis; Spilanthes lundii DC.; Spilanthes salzmannii DC.; Spilanthes uliginosa Sw.;