Yerba de St. Martin
Sauvagesia erecta

Family: Ochnaceae

What it is like

A low growing herb. It grows 60 cm high. The stems are slender and wiry. The leaves are 1-3 cm long by about 0.8 cm wide and taper to the base. The flowers are usually single and in the axil of leaves. The flower petals are pink or white. The fruit is a capsule. It is 5 mm long. The seeds are 0.5 mm long.

There are 35 Sauvagesia species in tropical America. It is used in medicine.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in wetter parts of tropical Africa. It grows in damp grasslands, marshes and ditches. It is along ponds and the edges of rivers. It can grow in seasonally flooded land. It grows from sea level to 1,200 m altitude. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America (country/location of origin), Congo DR, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Gabon, Grenada, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Lesser Antilles (country/location of origin), Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, North America, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America (country/location of origin), Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies (country/location of origin), Zambia

How it is used for food

The leaves are used as a spinach. They are used in soups.

Edible parts

Leaves, shoots

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Adima, Nkaka kizionzi, Yaoba

Synonyms

Sauvagesia brownei Planch.; Sauvagesia nutans Pers.;