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Do you live in a tropical sphere and enjoy growing your own food for thought plants ? Katuk is a delicious and alimental repeated shrub that ’s popular in many dish . This plant is easy to grow and care for and might be the perfect choice for your garden .
What is Katuk?
Katuk is a repeated evergreen bush that is native to southern and southeasterly Asia and has been show from northern Australia . This plant generally grow to a height of 3- 10 feet ( 1 - 3 m ) , or tumid in idealistic growing conditions , where its growth pace is fast in the growing season , slow down in the cool months .
Katuk ( Sauropus androgynus/ Breynia androgyna ) is also ordinarily know as the star gooseberry or sweet leaf in English . The industrial plant has many other common names including the multivitamin works , chekup manis , chekkurmenis and changkok manis . Unsurprisingly , manis translate to sweet in English , a cite to the flavor of this edible plant .
This is a tropical metal money that occurs at low-spirited altitudes of 300 - 1200 ft ( 100 - 400 MB ) in timber edge habitats and on incline . ( 1 )
The dingy immature leaves of katuk are alternately set and variable star in size , generally between 1 - 4 inches(3 - 10 centimeter ) farseeing and 0.75 to 1.5 inch ( 1.5 - 3.5 curium ) wide . ( 1 )
This is an crucial food and medicinal works and is educate commercially in countries such as the Philippines , Malaysia , India , Vietnam and Thailand .
Katuk Flowers
Each private Katuk plant produce both male and female flowers and is therefore said to be monoecious . The modest flowers are red or red and yellow in color and manful and distaff flowers seem quite dissimilar .
These mildly fragrant efflorescence fall out on an axillary florescence . That is , along the stems on short stalking from the bases of leaves . The female flowers , which usually occur singly , are produced first , and then followed by legion male heyday .
White to pink fruit are bring forth , open up to reveal attractive calamitous and bloodless seeds . Interestingly , both the flowers and fruits of this plant are eatable .
How To Grow Katuk
Katuk can be grown from seed or cuttings . semen can be quite slow to germinate but Katuk cuttings of 6 - 8 inches(15 - 20 cm ) take well . Katuk grows well as a hedge if seedlings or cuttings are planted tight together and well fertilized .
This plant can be turn in a salmagundi of soil type , including cadaver , loam and sand , but prefers a well - run out stain with a slightly acidulent to neutral pH of 6 - 7 . A general potting mix will do work just fine for this plant .
Katuk does well in fond shade , especially the kind of dappled light of a timberland understory , but can be grown in full sun provided it is kept well watered .
In cooler area , this plant will be inactive , or go through a period of limited growth , in the non - growing time of year , and can be cut back quite heavily to stir regrowth in the spring .
In such nerveless areas , the sweet leaf bush can be grown in containers , which can be winter indoors or in a nursery to fend off damage from moth-eaten weather condition .
These tropic plants are accommodate to high-pitched rain conditions and can be grow in USDA zones 10 to 12 and down to Uk zone 10 .
Care And Maintenance
This is a scurvy maintenance mintage . These comestible plants are very resistant of pruning and can be preserve as a hedging or be pruned right down in the inhuman season .
If you ’re growing your katuk for uptake , and harvest regularly , this industrial plant will appreciate steady fertilizing and a full-bodied compost to maintain unspoilt production .
Although this works is reasonably tolerant of dry conditions , it does appreciate veritable watering and a dampish soil , specially when get in full sun and tropic climates .
Uses
Gardening Uses
While not a particularly jazzy works , Katuk makes a great addition to an eatable garden and has the added benefits of being suitable for use as a screen or hedgerow . Its power to thrive in partial refinement do it suitable for growing under with child trees .
This plant make a tropic atmosphere in the garden and a variegated mixed bag has an interesting gray - green leafage color .
Food Uses
Katuk is most popularly used as a leaf vegetable and is consumed throughout south and southeasterly Asia . The plant has high protein , vitamin A and vitamin hundred depicted object .
The plant ’s vitamin B content is considered to be far high than that of most leafy greens and a wide of the mark variety of essential minerals are also contained , including sodium , potassium , calcium , phosphoric , iron , Mg , zinc , manganese and cobalt . ( 2 )
you may eat raw Katuk parts like young leaves and shoots while mature leaves are wangle . This works can also grow yield that is comestible . The leaves are known to maintain their resolution during cookery and are state to have a gently nutty , pea plant - alike feel .
Leaves and shoots of katuk are used in a wide variety of sweetheart , including salad , put forward - fries , soup and more .
Katuk may be harvested throughout the yr in tropical regions . This fast - growing specie may be glean at intervals of as little as two month under good growing conditions .
While Katuk plants are considered good to feed and enjoyed by billion , it should nevertheless be enjoyed in easing , rather than eaten as a staple fiber . This is because the industrial plant contains a compound make love as Kavrin , which is believed to have caused a precondition known as Bronchiolitis obliterans in patients who ingested large amount of the flora over a long period of time .
It is also advised that fudge katuk is safer than raw . ( 2 )
Medicinal Uses
Katuk is also widely used in Asia as a medicative works for a wide miscellanea of consideration , such as cardiovascular condition , skin conditions to improve eyesight , and to assist in weight - departure , although its effectiveness has not been fully read . [ 2 ]
FAQs
Is katuk good to consume ?
Yes , eating katuk is considered secure , but should not be eaten excessively . Individuals who consumed very high amounts of this plant ( as well as an selection of the industrial plant ) for a sustained period were reported to develop a serious lung condition . Cooked katuk is also thought to be safe for use than the raw product .
Can Katuk leaf be eaten raw ?
Yes , Katuk leaves can be eaten tender . They have a soft , round the bend flavor and are often used in salads or as a garnish . However , cooking them is also a common praxis and can raise their tasting and nutritionary note value .
Does Katuk like wraith ?
Yes , Katuk ( Sauropus androgynus ) is known to thrive in fond shadowiness . It in the main prefer a well - drained soil with partial sunlight , making it suitable for culture in areas with filtered or dappled sunlight . However , some exposure to sunlight is still of import for healthy growth .
Conclusion
Katuk is an fantabulous plant for tropical garden , especially for those who enjoy bring about their own nutrient . It ’s true that there are more colorful and showy plants available , but the compounding of edibleness , usefulness in landscape gardening and attractiveness make this a really bully choice .
For more interesting bush , check ourevergreen shrub inclination .
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( 1 ) eFloras ( 2008 ) . Published on the Internet http://www.efloras.org [ accessed 18 January 2025 ] * ’ Missouri Botanical Garden , St. Louis , MO & Harvard University Herbaria , Cambridge , MA .
( 2 ) Khoo , H. , E. & Azlan , A. Sauropus Androgynus Leaves For Health Benefits : Hype And The Science .
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