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Derivation of specific name

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
oleracea: vegetable-garden herb used in cooking
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Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
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Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Neptunia oleracea Lour. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=126310
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Mark Hyde
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Bart Wursten
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Petra Ballings
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Description

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
Aquatic herb. Stems creeping, often swollen and floating, rooting at the nodes. Leaves sensitive, bipinnate with 2-4 pairs. Leaflets in 7-22 pairs, oblong 5-20 mm long, mostly hairless. Flowers in subspherical axillary heads, 1.5-2.5 cm in diameter, bright yellow, on very long peduncles. Pods shortly oblong, up to 1.2 × 3.5 cm, in umbel-like clusters, bent at an angle to a short basal stipe.
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Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
bibliographic citation
Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Neptunia oleracea Lour. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=126310
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Mark Hyde
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Bart Wursten
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Petra Ballings
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Flora of Zimbabwe

Worldwide distribution

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
Widespread in tropical areas of the Old and New World
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Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
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Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Neptunia oleracea Lour. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=126310
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Mark Hyde
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Bart Wursten
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Petra Ballings
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Flora of Zimbabwe

Comprehensive Description

provided by North American Flora
Neptunia prostrata (Lam.) Baillon, Bull. Soc. Linn. Paris 1: 356. 1883.
Mimosa prosiraia l,a,m. ^ncycl. 1: 10. 1783. Neptunia oleracea Lour. Fl. Coch. 654. 1790. Mimosa laciisiris H. & B. PI. Aequin. 1: 55. 1806. Desmanthus lacustris Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 1044. 1806.
Floating in quiet water, glabrous throughout; stem stout, spongy, simple or little-branched, bearing large tufts of fibrous roots and hollow swellings 1-2 cm. in diameter. Stipules triangular-ovate, membranous, 5-7 mm. long; petioles 4-6 cm. long, glandless; pinnae 2 or 3 pairs, short-stalked; leaflets 8-20 pairs, linear or linear-oblong, 6-13 mm. long, obtuse or mucronulate, the venation obscure; peduncles axillary, solitary, in fruit 1.2-3 dm. long, bearing 1 or 2 ovate or lanceolate bracts; heads subglobose, many-flowered, the flowers white, fading yellow; perfect flowers with a calyx about 2 mm. long, the petals about 4 mm. long, the stamens about 8 mm. long; barren flowers basal, the calyx minute, the petals 2-4 mm. long, the linear staminodes 13-15 mm. long; legume oblong, mucronate, 2-2.5 cm. long, 8-10 mm. wide; seeds about 5 mm. long.
Type locality: India.
Distribution: Cuba; Jamaica; Yucatan. Tropical South America. Tropical Asia and Africa.
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bibliographic citation
Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose. 1928. (ROSALES); MIMOSACEAE. North American flora. vol 23(1). New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
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Physical Description

provided by USDA PLANTS text
Perennial, Herbs, Nodules present, Stems prostrate, trailing, or mat forming, Stems less than 1 m tall, Stems hollow, or spongy, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules membranous or chartaceous, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves bipinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 10-many, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Inflorescences globose heads, capitate or subcapitate, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts conspicuously present, Flowers actinomorphic or somewhat irregular, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Petals united, valvate, Petals orange or yellow, Stamens 9-10, Stamens completely free, separate, Stamens long exserted, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seed with elliptical line or depression, pleurogram, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.
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Dr. David Bogler
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Missouri Botanical Garden
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USDA NRCS NPDC
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Neptunia oleracea

provided by wikipedia EN

Neptunia oleracea, commonly known in English as water mimosa or sensitive neptunia, is pantropical nitrogen-fixing perennial legume. Genus and common name come from Neptune, god of the sea, in reference to the aquatic habit of some species in the genus.

Its specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus).[1][2]

Description

Aerenchyma (white spongy air-conducting tissue that gives stems buoyancy) forms on stems floating in water, but does not form on stems growing on land. Plants typically grow to as much as 6" tall, but stems will spread in the water to 3-5' long. Stems are clad with bi-pinnate, fine, mimosa-like sensitive leaves that close up when touched. Primary leaf segments have 8-40 small oblong leaflets arranged in opposite pairs. Tiny greenish-yellow flowers are densely crowded into feathery orbicular inflorescences that bloom in summer. Fruits are flat pods (to 1-2" long). Floating aquatic plant stems often form thick foliage mats and is considered to be an invasive aquatic weed in some tropical waters where large mats may form that choke waterways, resulting in restricted water flow, reduced water quality, reduced fish activity and loss of some underwater and native wetland plants.

Habitat

Primarily found growing prostrate in wet soils near the water's edge or floating on the water in relatively still-water areas. The native habitat of Neptunia oleracea is unknown, but some experts believe it is in the area of Mexico to northern South America.

Uses

Culinary

This plant is cultivated as a vegetable in southeast Asia (leaves and shoots have cabbage-like flavor). Young ends of stems and pods are edible and usually eaten raw as a vegetable in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and cultivated much like rice. The young leaves, shoot tips and young pods are usually eaten raw or in stir-fries and curries such as kaeng som.[3]

Medicinal

Juice of the stem and roots are used for medicinal purposes. Whole plant extract exhibited cytotoxic activity on neoplastic cell lines. Extract of the herb exhibited hepatoprotective activity.

Common names

  • Khmer: Kanchait (កញ្ឆែត)
  • Meiteilon/Manipuri: Eshing ekai thabi
  • Thai: Phak runon (ผักรู้นอน) or phak krachet (ผักกระเฉด), pronounced "phak kachēt".[4]
  • Vietnamese: Rau nhút
  • Sinhalese: දිය නිදිකුම්බා
  • Tamil language: Cuṇṭi or nīrc-cuṇṭi,[5] referring to its sensitivity to touch (cuṇṭu: to tap with thumb or finger)[6]
  • Mon: Khamək (ခမက်)

References

  1. ^ Parker, Peter (2018). A Little Book of Latin for Gardeners. Little Brown Book Group. p. 328. ISBN 978-1-4087-0615-2. oleraceus, holeraceus = relating to vegetables or kitchen garden
  2. ^ Whitney, William Dwight (1899). The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. Century Co. p. 2856. L. holeraceus, prop. oleraceus, herb-like, holus, prop. olus (oler-), herbs, vegetables
  3. ^ Nutritional composition of traditional Thai foods used local vegetables Archived 2012-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Thai Vegetable guide". Archived from the original on 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  5. ^ Madras Tamil Lexicon, also Tamil Dictionary, Winslow
  6. ^ Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, 2663

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Neptunia oleracea: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Neptunia oleracea, commonly known in English as water mimosa or sensitive neptunia, is pantropical nitrogen-fixing perennial legume. Genus and common name come from Neptune, god of the sea, in reference to the aquatic habit of some species in the genus.

Its specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus).

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Wikipedia authors and editors
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