Native cabbage, Salt pennywort
Hydrocotyle bonariensis
Family: Araliaceae
What it is like
A fleshy herb which keeps growing from year to year. The stem is creeping and underground and roots at the nodes. The leaf stalk is attached to the lower surface of the leaf, not the edge of the leaf. The leaf stalk is 2-35 cm long. The leaf blade is broad and 2-10 cm wide. It can have 12-20 shallow lobes or wavy edges. These have shallow scallops. There are many flowers in many umbels in a compound flower arrangement. The petals are whitish to yellow. The fruit are 1-2 mm long and 2-4 mm broad. They are heart shaped at the base.
There are about 130 Hydrocotyle species. Also put in the family Apiaceae.
Where it is found
It grows in warm temperate areas. It grows in brackish and sandy coastal areas. It can grow in or on water while attached to the banks.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, East Africa, Europe, France, Italy, Lord Howe Island, Mediterranean, Mexico, Mozambique, North America, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, South America, Spain, USA
How it is used for food
Edible parts
Leaves, vegetable
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Erva-capitao