Pentodon pentandrus Vatke

A straggling herb. It is partly succulent. It grows each year from seeds or can last a few years. It has a slender rootstock. The stems are 90 cm long. The leaves are opposite and simple. They do not have leaf stalks. The leaves are very narrowly oval and 2-8 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. The flowers are in rings in the axils of leaves. There are 1-4 flowers in a group. The flowers have both sexes and are small. The fruit is a capsule 2-4 mm long and has many seeds. The seeds are small, angular and black.

A tropical plant. It grows in wet muddy sites in West Africa and most of Africa. It grows from sea level to 2,250 m above sea level.

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Can be grown by seedlings.