Micrococca mercurialis

Family: Euphorbiaceae

What it is like

An annual herb. The lower parts become woody. It grows 60 cm tall. The leaves are alternate. The leaf stalk is 3.5 cm long. The leaf blades are narrowly oval and 2-8 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. They taper to the tip. The edges are wavy. They are dull grey-green. The flowers are in groups 3-12 cm long. The flowers are in clusters along this. They are in groups with one female flower and several male flowers. The fruit is a flattened 3 lobed capsule. It is 3 mm long by 4 mm wide and purplish. The seeds are angular.

There are 12 Micrococca species. Plants can have different numbers of chromosomes. Diploids are in the dry zone, tetraploids in the intermediate zone and hexaploids in the most forest zone. They have different growth cycles.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in waste places and as a weed in cultivation. It is a plant with varying numbers of chromosome sets and those with 2 sets are in drier zones extending to those with 6 sets in the forest zones.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Gabon, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indochina, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Middle East, Mozambique, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. They have an acid taste. The leaves can be dried and pounded to powder and stored for later use. These can be stored for up to a year.

It is a popular vegetable in some places. The leaves are sold in markets. In some places it is cultivated in gardens.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruit, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Kasenga, Ndululu, Tongati

Synonyms

Claoxylon mercurialis (L.) Thwaites; Microstachys mercurialis (L.) Dalzell & Gibs; Mercurialis alternifolia Lam.; Tragia mercuralis L.;