I've seen this in two separate markets this week. At one, an elderly Filipino couple stopped me to oooh and ahhh over the plant in my cart. They told me they grew it back home and loved it.
So here's your 2 billion dollar question:
WTF IS IT???
Here's the little lovely up close and personal:
Anybody who identifies and shares cooking secrets earns my undying affection.
I...DON'T...THINK....SO Lou, although you had me momentarily piqued with that business about the lysergic acid. Sounds like a great way to get people to eat their green leafy vegetables. You're close, though. And judging from the way this thing is already taking off in my garden it sure seems like it could be invasive. Care to take another shot?
No actually I am very correct as far as I know about both the plant genus and the ethnopharmacologic alkaloids. This is an ipomea and does contain LSA... But if you say I am not "correct" then please do tell what is the Genus of this plant? Because I would love to stand corrected.
If not a Ipmomea species, then it is a Piper species.... in the family of the black pepper/ kava kava... but it is impossible to tell from a photo... i would need to actually see a leaf and it's underside.
To the best of my knowledge, Louis, this is Malabar Spinach (red-stemmed Malabar spinach, Basella alba 'Rubra'). I'm not a botanist, but what I have in my garden looks and behaves exactly like the plant described here [http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/kitchen/2006su_spinach.html] because of the red stem and the fleshy leaves. It's supposed to be good cooked just as spinach. The water spinach has thinner, elongated leaves I think. But correct me if I'm wrong. You know, we here at New Times prize accuracy and in depth research!
this is from http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/vegetables/vgreens.htm
again I think it is an Ipomea.
Water spinach, Chinese water spinach, water convolvulus, morning glory, swamp morning glory, swamp cabbage, swamp spinach
ong choy (and other Chinese and Hawaiian variations), kang kong/kangkung (and other Indonesian/Malaysian/Philippine variations), pak bung (Thai), rau muong (Vietnamese)
(Ipomoea aquatica -- Family Convolvulaceae)
Not a true spinach, this vegetable is more closely related to the sweet potato, and can vary greatly in appearance. It has long, flat, arrow-shaped leaves with thin hollow stems. Cultivated in both waterways and fields, it is valued for its crunchy stems. The Vietnamese often split the pale green stems lengthwise and soak them in water, which makes them curl into little corkscrews used for decoration. Water spinach is cultivated in the tropics of Asia year round, but not exported because of its poor keeping properties. For this reason, it is almost unknown in many Western countries, although it is cultivated under glass in such places as Holland, Britain, and the US. Water spinach can be eaten raw; but it is usually prepared like ordinary spinach, which it resembles in taste. It is often used as flavouring for soups in China. There are two forms available in Asian markets. The main one has firm, tight, tubular, foot long scallion-green stems and narrow arrow-shaped leaves. The second form has a wider, softer, celery-pale stem. The leaves of both taste like a mild spinach with an extra touch of acidity and slipperiness. The stems resemble drinking straws, and are crisp and faintly fibrous with a gentle "green" flavour and a tart tinge.
This is called "water spinach" it is actually a form of morning glory... it is not supposed to be sold in florida as a plant because it is feared it might become invasive. Either way, you cook the leaves as you would any vegitable.... the seeds of this plant might be a "psychedelic" since they might contain LSA (lysergic acid) used to make LSD. But dont expect to get high from eating these leaves, it is perfectly safe.
Posted at: July 18, 2008 4:44 PM