By S.O. Olanrewaju Disu
In our Lagos Area Metropolitan markets, the "ewedu"- the long fruited vegetable, is a very popular and useful vegetable. It is available in our markets all year round. It is so important that even during the dry seanson, some farmers engage in dry season farming specially to cultivate "ewedu" vegetables in swampy areas. During the rainy season, on the orher hand, the "ewedu" vegetable is expressly cultivated by battalions of farmers and gardners.
The botanical name of "ewedu" is "Corchorous Olitorius, Family Tiliaceae"It derives its English name, the long-fruited vegetable from the appearance of its fruit. Though the fruit of the vegetable is edible i.e usage against fever locally- it is often kept for seed multiplication and propagation.
The "ewedu" or the "long fruited" vegetable is a semi-woody herb that can grow up to 90cm high and its widepsread in the tropics. The leaves are the valued part of the plant and are much favored as a spinach vegetable, and in soups and sauces. They are mucilaginous, a condition graetly appreciated by the populace. The leaf is rich in protein and is reported to have a high mineral content. Nutritionally, the leaves are recommended to counter malnutrition. The "ewedu" or the long "long fruited" vegetable is very useful indeed!
Photo: (A) Vegetableseller displaying the "ewedu" vegetables at the expansive "Mushin Market"
(B) The "ewedu" the long fruited vegetable at close range.
This evokes nostalgia in me. still remember how my mum bought ewedu in bulk at mushin market but was always put off by the horrible conditions under which it was sold. some of the women were so cunning they put leafless stalk in the bunch to make it look bigger. I really miss nigeria at times like this.
ReplyDeleteI was recently in Nigeria and ask my mother to provide me with some of the seeds from her little backyard farm so I could plant them here in Italy. She laughed at me, but in the end she did and now I have planted some for observation. I hope they will flourish.
ReplyDeleteThe rainy season is here and I just bought the seed today. I will plant it this weekend
ReplyDelete