Taga
Haumaniastrum caeruleum

Family: Lamiaceae

What it is like

A herb. It is stout and erect. It keeps growing from year to year. It is often bushy and has soft hairs. It grows 1 m high. The stems have 4 angles. There can be several stems from a woody rootstock. The leaves are opposite or in rings of 3-4. The leaf blade in narrowly oval and 2-10 cm long by about 1 cm wide. The base is wedge shaped and it tapers to the tip. The flowers are in a rounded head. The flowers are pale violet. The bracts are usually white. The fruit is made up of 4 nutlets. These are about 1 mm long. The plant varies a lot.

There are 35 Haumaniastrum species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in damp savannah. It grows between 200-2,100 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, East Africa, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The ash of the plant is used as a vegetable salt.

It is a minor vegetable. It is reasonably commonly used in Benin.

Edible parts

Leaves, ash - salt, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Acrocephalus schweinfurthii Briq.; Acrocephalus degiorgii Robyns & Lebrun; Haumaniastrum glaucescens (Robyns & Lebrun) P. A. Duvign. & Plancke; Acrocephalus caeruleus Oliv.; Acrocephalus vanderystii De Wild.; Acrocephalus claessensii Robyns & Lebrun; Acrocephalus glaucescens Robyns & Lebrun; Acrocephalus porphyrophyllus Baker; Haumaniastrum monocephalum (Baker) P. A. Duvign. & Plancke; Acrocephalus demeusei Briq.; Acrocephalus lescrauwaetii Robyns & Lebrun; Acrocephalus mildbraedii Perkins; Acrocephalus centratheroides Baker; Acrocephalus quarrei Robyns & Lebrun; Acrocephalus martreti A. Chev.; Acrocephalus lagoensis Baker; Acrocephalus sordidus Briq.; Acrocephalus pseudosericeus G. Taylor; Acrocephalus longecuspidatus Robyns & Lebrun; Acrocephalus barakaensis De Wild.; Haumaniastrum gracile (Briq.) P. A. Duvign. & Plancke; Acrocephalus coeruleus Oliv. var. genuinus Briq.; Acrocephalus laurentii Briq.; Acrocephalus masuianus Briq.; Acrocephalus bequaertii De Wild.; Acrocephalus hensii Briq.; Acrocephalus doloensis De Wild.; Haumaniastrum quarrei (Robyns & Lebrun) J. K. Morton; Acrocephalus descampsii Briq.; Acrocephalus iododermis Briq.; Acrocephalus lilacinus Oliv.; Acrocephalus crinitus Briq.; Acrocephalus polytrichus Baker; Acrocephalus sapinii Robyns & Lebrun; Acrocephalus campicola Briq.; Acrocephalus gracilis Briq.; Haumaniastrum lilacinum (Oliv.) J. K. Morton; Acrocephalus monocephalus Baker; Acrocephalus seretii De Wild.; Acrocephalus lilacinoides De Wild.;