Characteristics
A herb. It grows 1.5 m tall. It has a rhizome or underground stem. The stem is erect and branched. The leaves are broadly sword shaped and unequal on opposite sides. They are 9-29 cm long by 3-11 cm wide. There are irregular teeth along the edge. The leaf stalks are 8-15 cm long. The flowering shoots are small and 5 cm long. They hang down. The flowers are mixed male and female and white. The fruit is a flattened round capsule. It is fleshy and 2 cm across.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
-
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
monoecy
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
1.5
|
| Root system |
rhizome
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
It is a tropical plant. It grows on the edges of forests up to 2,000 m above sea level.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
| Uses |
-
|
| Edible
|
leaves
|
| Therapeutic use
|
-
|
| Human toxicity |
-
|
| Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from stem or leaf cuttings or by division of the rhizome or from seeds.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
15 - 60
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
21 - 26
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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