Velvet plant, Chinese gynura
Gynura pseudochina

Family: Asteraceae

What it is like

A herb. It is erect and keeps growing from year to year. It is a soft or succulent plant. It grows 130 cm tall. The roots are fattened with tubers. These are round or lobed and 2-6 cm across. The leaves are simple and in a ring. They can have shallow lobes. They are spoon shaped or oval and 7-40 cm long by 2-20 cm wide. The upper leaves are smaller and have more lobed. The flowers are in a head. The flower stalk is 4 cm long. They are yellow or red. The fruit is dry and 3-4 mm long.

There are about 40 Gynura species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in grassland and among rocks. In China it grows in sandy places on slopes between 200-2,100 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Benin, Bhutan, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, China, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Togo, Vietnam, West Africa, Zambia

How it is used for food

The leaves are used in soups and stews as a flavouring. They are slimy.

It is cultivated as a food plant in some places. It is only of local importance.

Edible parts

Leaves, vegetable

How it is grown

It can be grown from seeds, cuttings or tubers.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Cacalia bulbosa Lour.; Cacalia maculata Buch.-Ham. ex Steud.; Cacalia purpurascens Wall. invalid; Cacalia sagittaria (Invalid); Crassocephalium miniatum (Welw.) Hiern.; Crassocephalum pseudochina (L.) Kuntze; Gynura annamensis S. Moore; Gynura biflora (Burm. f.) Merr.; Gynura bodinieri H. Lev.; Gynura bulbosa (Lour.) Hook. & Arn.; Gynura eximia S. Moore; Gynura integrifolia Gagnep.; Gynura miniata Welw.; Gynura miniata var. orientalis O. Hoffm.; Gynura nudicaulis Arn.; Gynura purpurascens DC.; Gynura rusisiensis R. E. Fr.; Gynura sagittaria DC.;