Tragia insuavis Prain

A slender twining or trailing herb. It keeps growing from year to year. There are stinging hairs on the stems and leaves. The stems come from a woody rootstock. The stems twine anticlockwise. The leaves are alternate and oval. They are heart shaped at the base. The stalk is 1-6 cm long. The leaf blade is 4-10 cm long. They are bright green above and more pale underneath. The flowers are yellow to green. The are very small. The male and female flowers are separate. They are beside the leaves on the stalk. The fruit is a lobed capsule.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in woodland and can be beside lakes and rivers. In Tanzania it grows between 500-1,300 m above sea level.

The young leaves are chopped and cooked alone or mixed with other vegetables. Caution: It has stinging hairs.

Plants can be grown from seeds.