This specimen just showed up from our nursery without anyone planting it there. The seed may have been accidentally carried when we collected soil from somewhere inside or near the farm. My helpers call this “Puso-puso” , perhaps an allusion to it’s heart-shaped leaves. The clustered inflorescence are eaten as vegetables and my helpers just simply saute them and eat with rice. They would be good also when added in Guisadong munggo, Pinakbet, Guisadong mais, Bulanglang and non-conventional soups. In Thailand, where I have lived for a number of months, this is an everyday vegetable you will see being sold in public markets and in fresh produce sections of groceries. Noo, my Thai wife, says they would have it steamed or boiled and served with spicy Nam Pric (crushed Chilies with fish sauce and/or fish paste, herbs, lime etc.), fried with eggs as omelette, sauteed with meat or added in their version of Hot & Sour soup.
Botanical name : Telosma procumbens
Local name : Puso-puso, Sabidukong, Bagbagkong
Trade name : Cowslip creeper
Family : Apocynaceae
Habit : Bamboo thickets, Wooded creek banks
Trait : Woody vine
Recommendations : Backyard vegetable, Commercial planting, Home gardens
Native range : The Philippines, China, Vietnam
Conservation status : Not threatened in the Philippines
Further reading :
Chinese Plant names - Telosma procumbens http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=200018715
Sweet Pregnane Glycosides from Telosma procumbens http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/~shoyaku/member/yamasaki/Pub/Huan.pdf
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