Cleome gynandra

Cleome gynandra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Cleomaceae
Genus: Cleome
Species: C. gynandra
Binomial name
Cleome gynandra
L.
Synonyms[1]

Cleome gynandra is a species of Cleome that is used as a green vegetable. It is known by many common names including Shona cabbage, African cabbage, spiderwisp, and cat's whiskers.[2] It is an annual wildflower native to Africa but has become widespread in many tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. It is an erect, branching plant generally between 25 cm and 60 cm tall. Its sparse leaves are each made up of 3-5 oval-shaped leaflets. The flowers are white, sometimes changing to rose pink as they age.[3] The seed is a brown 1.5mm diameter sphere. The leaves are edible.

Uses

The leaves form an important part of diets in Southern Africa, and nutritional analysis has found it to be high in certain nutrients including amino acids, vitamins and minerals.[3]

In Thailand the leaves are a popular food item fermented with rice water as a pickle known as phak sian dong.[4]

Vernacular names

In Telugu, C. gynandra is termed as Vaminta or Vayinta. Marathi: Tilavan; Kenyan (Kisii): Chinsaga; (Luo): Dek, shwetahudhude in Bengali, Phak Sian (ผักเสี้ยน) in Thai.

Ecology

Cleome gynandra is considered an invasive weed in many places in the U.S.[5] and elsewhere in the Pacific.[6]

Biochemistry

Cleome gynandra uses NAD-malic enzyme type C4 photosynthesis and has the characteristic traits associated with this including changes in "leaf biochemistry, cell biology and development".[7] Cleome gynandra is closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana (a C3 photosynthetic plant) and therefore offers comparison with this well studied model organism.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Gynandropsis gynandra (L.) Briq.", USDA GRIN Taxonomy, retrieved 28 July 2015
  3. 1 2 Cleome gynandra L. entry in Plantzafrica database
  4. ↑ ผักเสี้ยน สรรพคุณและประโยชน์ของผักเสี้ยน 29 ข้อ !
  5. ↑ USDA-NRCS: Invasive and noxious weeds
  6. ↑ Cleome gynandra: Plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER))
  7. ↑ Marshall, D.M., Muhaidat, R., Brown, N.J., Liu, Z., Stanley, S., Griffiths, H.G., Sage, R.F., Hibberd, J.M. (2007) Cleome, a genus closely related to Arabidopsis, contains species spanning a developmental progression from C3 to C4 photosynthesis. Plant Journal, 51: 886-896

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