Monday, December 7, 2009

JEWELS-OF-OPAR

Flowers and fruits of the Talinum paniculatum The Jewels-of-Opar similar to what my reader has.
This is the Jewels-of-Opar of Talinum Paniculatum that my reader, Edward Khoo, has.

I had confused this plant with the ginseng jawa plant. Both plants belong to the Talinum genus of herbaceous plants. The plant above is Talinum paniculatum or Jewels-of-Opar whereas the one I have in the Herb Garden is Talinum triangulare or Waterleaf.
Common names/Nama tempatan: Jewels-of-Opar, Flameflower, Fame Flower
Scientific name/Nama Saintifik:Talinum paniculatum Gaertn
Family/Famili:Portulacaceae
Medical use:
The roots of this plant has saponin, steriod and essential oil. It is used as a tonic.

2 comments:

nswong said...

Two species in your photo:
Talinum paniculatum
Talinum triangulare

Unknown said...

The leaves of Ginseng Jawa is edible and tasts great, crunchy.People in Surabaya,Indonesia have it in the restaurant menu. Some grow it in their yard. Looks like the first picture, not the dark green leaves. I live in Seattle, USA, can some one send me some seeds please? e-mail:duramateribunda@yahoo.com