Star vegetable, Lymac fortune, Swamp loosestrife
Lysimachia fortunei
Family: Primulaceae
What it is like
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 30-70 cm high. It has creeping rhizomes or underground stems. The leaves almost occur opposite one another. They are sword shaped and 5-11 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. They taper at both ends. The flowers are small. They are white and in crowded groups 10-20 cm long at the ends of branches. The fruit is a round capsule.
There are about 150 Lysimachia species.
Where it is found
It is a warm temperate to subtropical plant. It grows in wet ditches and on the edges of rice paddies between sea level and 1,500 m above sea level in southern China.
Countries/locations it is found in
Asia, China, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Laos, SE Asia, Taiwan, Vietnam
How it is used for food
The leaves and shoots are eaten.
It is sold in local markets in China.
Edible parts
Leaves, shoots, leaves - tea
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Lymac fortune, Shui pu gen