Native wild edible : Piper sarmentosum

 Native wild edibles, Our Blogs, What we grow  No Responses »
Jun 172014
 

Photo specimen : Cultivated

Specimen height : 1/2 meter

Trade names : Wild betel, Kadok, Chaphlu

Botanical name : Piper sarmentosum

Family : Piperaceae

Traits : Evergreen; Fast-growing; Herbaceous creeper; Low to medium altitude species; Perrenial; Shade tolerant

Recommendations : Backyards; Edible gardening; Farms; Home gardens; Landscaping; Large gardens; Living mulch; Medicinal plant; Natural ground cover; Ornamental; Pharmacological uses; Plantations; Potted/Container plant; Public spaces; Reclamation; Urban parks; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves are eaten with salad as condiment or used as vegetable or edible food wrap or as an alternative to Piper betel; Leaves, roots and fruits have uses in traditional medicine

Native range : India, Andaman Islands, China and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened

Further reading :

An Investigation of the Vegetative Anatomy of Piper sarmentosum, and a Comparison with the Anatomy of Piper betle (Piperaceae) (Vijayasankar Raman, Ahmed M. Galal, Ikhlas A. Khan) file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Piper%20sarmentosum_anatomy.pdf

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Does Oral Ingestion of Piper sarmentosum Cause Toxicity in Experimental Animals? (Maizura Mohd Zainudin, Zaiton Zakaria, Nor Anita Megat Mohd Nordin and Faizah Othman) http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/705950/

Natural Antioxidants: Piper sarmentosum (Kadok) and Morinda elliptica
(Mengkudu) (Vimala Subramaniam, Mohd. Ilham Adenan, Abdull Rashih Ahmad & Rohana Sahdan) http://nutriweb.org.my/publications/mjn009_1/mjn9n1_art5.pdf (697)

Native wild edible : Momordica cochinchinensis

 Native wild edibles, Our Blogs, What we grow  No Responses »
Jun 142014
 

I have always wondered why we Filipinos have not exploit the use of our native Momordica cochinchinensis. I’ve heard from friends that they’ve encountered this strange fruit during forest walks and at times in forest clearings near settlements. In Thailand, where it is called Fak Khao, a few pieces of fruits may seasonally be seen in fruit markets. The orange, spiny fruits sometimes weigh from 250g to a kilo per piece and they are a little more expensive than the common fruits. There are small plantations in Surin but few and far between outside of the province. The red aril covering the seed is extracted to make a nutritious beverage; the same is also used in making glutinous rice desserts imparting a natural red color. The young shoots are steamed, dipped in Nam Prik (Thai chili sauce) and eaten with rice.

Photo specimen : Cultivated

Specimen height : 6-10 meters

Local names : Patolang-uwak, Balbas-bakiro

Trade names : Gac, Cochinchin gourd

Botanical name : Momordica cochinchinensis

Family : Cucurbitaceae

Traits : Dioecious; Drought tolerant; Fast-growing; Full-sun; Low to medium altitude species; Perrenial vine; Woody climber

Recommendations : Backyards; Edible gardening; Farms; Fence climber; Fruit collector’s; Hedgegrow/Screen; Large gardens; Medicinal plant; Pharmacological uses; Plantations; Reclamation; Urban parks; Wildcrafting

Used for : Young shoots and flowers are eaten as vegetable; The pulp is also eaten; The nutritious aril is used in making specialty beverages, glutinous rice desserts and in the manufacture of dietary supplements; Aril is used as a natural food color; Leaves, roots and seeds have uses in traditional medicine

Native range : India, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines), New Guinea, Australia

National conservation status : Not threatened

Further reading :

Flora of China - Momordica cochinchinensis http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200022699

FOXNEWS Gac : Strange Name, Powerful Fruit (Chris Kilham) http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/02/22/gac-strange-powerful-fruit/

  (719)