permaculture

Edible / Condiment leaf species of Southeast Asia.

The following is a list of species whose leaves are used as condiments in Southeast Asia. The list is not, by any means, complete, but includes some of the lesser known, more obscure species.

Acacia farnesianaCassie flower, Leguminaceae

Achronychia laurifoliaKetiak, Rutaceae

Aegle marmelosBael fruit, Rutaceae

Allium odorumChinese chives, Liliaceae

Ancistrocladus extensus, Ox-tongue, Dipterocarpaceae

Antidesma ghaesembillaSekinchak, Euphorbiaceae

Begonia tuberosaTuberous begonia, Begoniaceae

Claoxylon polotRock blumea, Euphorbiaceae

Coleus tuberosus, African potato, Labiatae

Crypteronia paniculata, Sempoh, Lythraceae

Curcuma domestica, Turmeric, Zingiberaceae

Cymbopogon citratusLemon Grass, Graminae

Cyrtandra decurrens, Graminae

C. pendulaRock sorrel, Graminae

Dendrobium salaccenseCooking orchid, Orchidaceae

Derris heptaphyllaSeven finger, Leguminaceae

Elethariopsis sumatranaFrangrant gingerwort, Zingiberaceae

Eugenia polyanthaWhite kelat, Myrtaceae

Evodia roxburghianaSour-relish wood, Rutaceae

Gymura procumbens, Akar, Compositae

Homalomena graffithiiItch grass, Araceae

HornstedtiaTepus, Zingiberaceae

Horsfieldia sylvestrisPendarahan, Myristicaceae

Kaempferia galangaChekur (Galangal), Zingiberaceae

Kaempferia rotundaKenchur, Zingiberaceae

Leucas lavandulifoiaKetumbak, Labiatae

L. zeylanicaKetumbak, Labaiatae

Limnophila aromaticaSwamp leaf, Scrophulariaceae

L. villosa

L. conferta

L. pulcherrima

L. rugosa

Lycium chineseKichi, Matrimony vine, Solanaceae

Lycopersicum esculentumTomato, Solanaceae

Medinilla crispataMedinilla, Melastomataceae

M. hasseltii

M. radicans

Mentha longifoliaLongleaf mint, Labiatae

Murraya koenigiiCurry-leaf tree, Rutaceae

Nauclea esculentaPincushion, Rubiaceae

Ocimum canumHoary basil, Labiatae

Oenanthe javanicaShelum, Umbelliferae

Ottelia alismoides, Pojnd lettuce, Hydrocharitaceae

Oxalis corniculataSorrel, Oxalidaceae

Pilea melastomoidesSweet nettle, Urticaceae

Piper lolotPepper leaf, Piperaceae

P. caducibracteum

P. umbellatum

Pistacia lentiscusPistachio resin tree, Anacardiaceae

Pluchea indicaIndian sage, Comppositae

Polygonum hydropiperWater polygonum, Polygonaceae

Staurogyne elongataCross flower, Acanthaceae

Trachyspermum involucratumWild celery, Umbelliferae

Lecythis elliptica - Mini-Brazil Nut, Monkey Pot

This is a fantastic tree. I found it in a stand of three in a somewhat neglected Summit botanic gardens outside of Panama City. I have collected seed from these trees for years. Today all of the other Lecythis spp. were flowering profusely, this one was full of ripe pods. I already have about ten very healthy trees going in my nursery. Inside the baseball size capsule (a miniature version of L. zabucajo), there are numerous nuts packed together. A cream colored aril is attached to the end of each nut, the aril tastes like anise but I'm not entirely sure if its edible. The nut itself is one of the best tasting tropical nuts I have eaten, identical in taste to its close relatives, perhaps superior to Brazil Nut, although maybe that's because I was eating them fresh.The nut can be eaten fresh or roasted. In Brazil, an oil is extracted from the nuts to make soap.

The Pili nut (Canarium ovatum) is another great tropical nut.

See related info in entry for Lecythis zabucajo, Sapucaia Nut