Download Sweet bitterleaf

Sweet bitterleaf
Vernonia hymenolepis
Asteraceae
Common Names
Sweet bitterleaf, bitterleaf (En); vernonie douce, vernonie, ndole (Fr); vernonia (Sp);
鱗斑鳩菊 (Cn)
Plant Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa
Botanical Features
Perennial shrub up to 2 m tall; young branches with dense soft hairs; leaves alternate,
simple, sessile; blade elliptical to lanceolate, 5.5 x 9.5 cm, wedge-shaped to longattenuate and sometimes auriculate at base, acuminate at apex, margin minutely to
coarsely toothed, hairy below, pinnately veined; inflorescence umbel-like cymes;
involucre egg-shaped to hemispherical, 1.5-4 cm long, bracts 2-6-seriate, up to 3.5 cm
long, with green or white appendages; flowers bisexual, tubular, 1-2 cm long, whitish
to purple, glandular, with short, erect lobes; ribbed achenes 3-6.5 mm long, hairless to
slightly hairy, dark brown, crowned by long, fine bristles that easily fall off; epigeal
germination.
Leaves
258
Environmental Factors
Light requirement: full sun; photoperiod: short-day; temperature requirement: warm;
soils: sandy, loamy, clayey; sensitivity: drought; allelopathic.
Growth form
Flowers
259
Production Methods
System: home gardening, intercropping, monocropping; planting material: seeds,
stem cuttings with four buds; planting method: direct on raised beds, transplanting,
ratoon; irrigation: frequent; priority fertilizer: nitrogen, organic matter; crop
management: free standing, mulching occasionally; planting to 1 st harvest: 30-55
days; harvesting: repeated cutting of young shoots or gathering leaves at 5-10 cm
above the soil surface.
Seeds
Dry flowers
260
Edible Parts
Tender leafy shoots are eaten boiled or in soup, or finely cut and dried to garnish other
dishes.
Health Values
Beta-carotene: high in leaves; vitamin E: medium; folic acid: medium; ascorbic acid:
high; calcium: medium; iron: high; protein: 3.8%. Leaves contain sesquiterpene
lactones and steroid glucosides that show antiparasitic and platelet anti-aggregating
properties.
Field production
261