ARTICLE 71: STOCKFISH

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

An important exotic food item commonly sold in major markets in Lagos Area is the stockfish. The stockfish is simply a type of fish (e.g. cod, hadlock, or hake) that is dried hard in the open air without salt. These types of fishes are commonly caught in Norwegian waters, very far away from our shores!

Stockfish trading is very thriving in the whole of southern Nigeria. This exotic delicacy is consumed more by people of south-eastern origin-i.e the Ibo's, than any other ethnic group in the state. Since there is a very large concentration of Ibo - speaking people in Lagos State, the stock-fish business is very thriving here, too.

Various types of vegetable-based soups are cooked with stockfish in addition to other condiments. Ibo-speaking peoples are voracious consumers of fresh vegetables and stockfish. Indeed, in all major markets in Lagos State, there are sections specially reserved for dried stockfish-trading.

As earlier mentioned, stockfish are native to Norwegian waters. They are caught in large numbers by means of modern fishing trawlers. These fishes are then cleaned out and dried, ready for export to West African nations, whose people cherish eating them in their soups!

Illustration:

Stockfish for sale at the "Iyana-Ejigbo" Market. Directly below the stockfish are displayed some of the condiments used with the stockfish in soup-cooking.

ARTICLE 70: SNAILS

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

Snails are available in most of the urban, sub-urban and rural markets in the whole of Lagos. They come in all shapes and sizes!

In description, a snail is an invertebrate animal with a soft, unsegmented body usually enclosed in a calcareos spiral shell. It is a slow-moving nocturnal animal. The most popular type of African snails found in our markets is scientifically known as "achatina achatina, Family achatinidae".

Like many other agricultural products in our markets, snails are abundant during the rains and sell at affordable prices, whereas during the dry season the reverse is the case. However, this situation is ameliorated by the upsurge in the establishment of large scale snail-farming both for local consumption and export, too.

The south-west part of Nigeria is situated in the tropical rain-forest. Furthermore, there are mangrove swamps. These ecosystems form natural habitats for snails. From time immemorial, there are peasant farmers who, during the rains, picked snails in very large numbers from the forests and swamps. The large sized and marketable ones are then brought down to the markets by middlemen and women.

On the other hand, younger snails are snapped up by snail-breeders who keep them in commercial quantities and nurture and sell them for huge profits. This is so because an adult snail is capable of laying about 300 eggs in a season, with about 33-34% hatching rate per clutch. Interestingly, snails are hermaphrodites and they mate for between six and ten hours!

Assumed medicinal value of snails among our people make snail-selling a profitable venture in our markets. Experts say the meat contains almost all the amino-acids that the human body needs. Also, there are other beneficial by-products, e.g., the shell, a source of gum, and its colorless blood which is useful locally for the treatment of hypertension. Above all, snails are now potential foreign-exchange earner when exporter. In other words, snail-farming is no longer just a local busines, but has now gined international acceptance!

Illustration:

A. Adult snails on display at a section of "Sura" Snail Market in Lagos Island. Much bigger quantities are available for export

B. A retail snail seller at the same market in Lagos Island

Article 69: 'IRU"- African Locust Bean

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

There is a peculiar condiment on sale all-year round in Lagos Area Markets. It is called 'Iru" by indigenous Yoruba populace in the South Western region of Nigeria. The English name is "African Locust Bean". The scientific name is 'Parkia biglobosa, Family Leguminosae: Mimosoideae" while the Hausa speaking inhabitants of the area call it "Daddawa".

'Iru" - the "African Locust Bean" is a product of a deciduous tree that grows as tall as twenty metres, with large fruit pods. The fruit pods contains a row of black seeds. The seeds are obtained from the pod simply by washing away the surrounding meal. To obtain the kernel, it is usual to boil the seeds for twenty-four hours (to soften the testa) or to roast them. Thereafter, it is pounded and washed several times to remove the broken shell;they are then boiled again to form a paste and then set aside for two or three days to ferment. The product is a blackish itemwith a pungent smell. It is a favourite food in the clime as well as a seasoning - something very much in use to enhance the flavour of our soup. The pungent smell is destroyed by frying or roasting, which also removes any toxic substances which might be present.

Virtually all vegetable based soups are cooked with the "African Locust Bean" - "Iru" in local parlance !Soups made with "Iru" are usually eaten with cereals. This condiments is readily digested; indeed, its reported to have been used in Europe as a diebetic food. It keeps very well and it is usually made up into small cakes for longer keeping.

Illustrating Photos

A. Freshly made "African Locust Beans" - "Iru"

B. Cakes of the "African Locust Bean" on sale at the "Ikotun Market" in Lagos State

Article 68: RAMS

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

While criss crossing the length and breadth of the Lagos Metropolis, one frequently comes across "special" markets -i.e markets that usually sell only one commodity. An example of such a market is the rams' market, the largest of which is the "Alaba-Rago" Rams market situated along the Lagos Badagry Expressway in the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State. Another example is the Gbagada Rams market situated along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. We also have the "Nepa Rams Market situated along the Egbe Isolo Road in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area.

Rams are available in our rams' market all year round. During festivals such as yuletide and other religious festivals, there are large numbers of rams for sale at high prices: whereas during other periods opf the year, rams' prices are lower. Indeed the consumption of rams is often a pastime attached to several activities among which are the celebration of the arrival of new born children, opening of a new house, weddings, funreals, promotions e.t.c

In Lagos Metropolis area generally, rams' markets are located along highways and suburban road sides. This makes for easy evacuation of the animals after purchase. Motorists easily drive adjacently to the markets with little hinderance. Also, there are some pick up vans as well as taxi cabs readily available to help ram purchasers evacuate their purchases to their destinations in the metropolis.

Where are these rams from?They are reared in the Northern part of Nigeria, very far from Lagos climate as well as edaphic conditions prevailing in the north, in addition to very expanse of graze land, encourage the breeding of rams on a very large scale.

Full time rams' merchants purchase these animals in large quantities from ranches in the Northern parts of Nigeria and then transport them by long haulage vehicles directly to the boisterous "Alaba Rago Rams Market" in Lagos and also other big rams' markets in the metropolis on an almost daily basis. This has to be so as there are ready markets for them.

In order to counteract the almost non-availability of grazing land for these rams, merchants bringing them from the north often bring along roughages for their feeding e.g. grasses and fodder plants as well as fodder crops like groundnuts (dried stems of groundnut as well as the dried pods after the seeds have been removed from the pods)Other rams' diets include dried cowpea pods and guinea corns.

To make the story short, ram selling is a lucrative business in Lagos State Indeed.

Illustrations:

A. Rams on sale at the "Alaba rago Rams' Market"

B. Well fed bigger rams at an exclusive corner of the "Alaba Rago Market"

C. The "Gbagada Rams' Market"

D. The "Nepa Rams' Market" in Ejigbo, Lagos State

Article 67:"Ewe Asunwon"- the "ring worm shrub" or "craw craw plant"

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

In addition to edible and very palatable vegetable food stuffs, Lagos area markets, especially on weekly market days are usually overflowing with highly medicinal agricultural herbs, tree barks, exotic leaves and sweet scented vegetables. One of these is the leaf called "ewe asunwon". It is botanically known as "Senna alata, Family Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae". Its various English names are "the ring worm bush", "the ring worm shrub" and "craw-craw plant". This plant is useful in diverse ways.

It is a soft wooded shrub that reaches a height of two to five metres. It has bright yellow flowers and thrives in the forest zone of tropical West Africa. Historically, it is a native of tropical America. The plant is highly decorative and worthy of cultivation because of this and its other attributes.

Traditionally, a root decoction of the plant is taken to regulate menstrual flow among our local women. Also, the decoction with rock salt and some other dry plants are taken locally three times a week on an empty stomach as an effective treatment for chronic gonorrhea. The Ibo speakig girls of Nigeria traditionally rub the roots over sacrifictions to make body markings. Sap from fresh leaves of the plant is universally recognised as a remedy for parasitic skin diseases and for many eruptive and pustular skin affections, a property which gives rise to the European and to many African names for the plant. All forms of ring worm are effectively cured by the traditional use of the watery leaf extract of the plant. Furthermore, the leaves of this plant are strongly purgative. The dried leaf is used as an arbortifacient. On the other hand, it is used to expedite child birth!

Photos

The leaves of the "Senna alata" (the ring worm shrub) or (the craw craw shrub) on sale at the Agege Market in Lagos State

Article 66: SORGHUM BICOLOR "Poroporo"

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

In Lagos area market, there are found some uncommon agricultural products. An example of such is the "sorghum bicolor", which the indigenous residents in Lagos Metropolitan Area call "poroporo". The botanical name is "Sorghum bicolor, Family Gramineae". It is also known as "grain sorghum" or "great millets"

The "sorghum bicolor" alias "poroporo" is an annual or perennial grass with stout culms and grows up to four meters or even more in height. This product is a cereal that grows very well in dry areas, e.g. the Northern parts of Nigeria where there is relatively low rainfall.

Up North, it is cultivated chiefly for its grain. Also, the stems are commonly used to make a sort of mat for covering door ways. Furthermore, the culms are used for fencing and hut building. However, in Lagos area, its stems are of great medicinal value. Boiled stems provide red coloured liquid that is used as tonic for anemic and general lack of vitality. among the Yoruba speaking people of Nigeria, herbalists frquently use the stems to make concoction which enhances the production of blood. Indeed, this particular agricultural product provides diverse needs for diverse cultures!

Photos

Stems of the "poroporo" i.e "sorghun bicolor" on sale at Oyingbo Market in Lagos Mainland area of the metropolis

Article 65: The "Elegede" Vegetable, also known as "Squash-Gourd Melon Pumpkin and Water Squash"

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

This vegetable is usually trailing polymorphic herbaceous cultigen, and it comes out annually. Historically, it is a native of Peru, but its now dispersed throughout most of the world. I is scientifically called "Cucurbita maxima, Family Cucurbitaceae"

This vegetable's young leaves and shoots as well as flowers are used as a pot nerb. The fruit-flesh is generally boiled and eaten in pieces or put into stews and soups. The seeds of the fruit have medicinal uses, too. Here in Nigeria, freshly powdered seeds of the fruit of "elegede" vegetable are taken to expel tapeworm.

Before delivery to urban and sub-urban markets in Lagos Metropolis, the vegetable is picked up in farms and around houses, often trained against house walls, flowering and fruiting on the roof. The fruit has large gourds and perhaps the largest of the known gourds, which reports say can weigh as much as 100kgs!

Culturally, the husk serves as a container and also as domestic utensils. Some artisans carve out the big-sized gourds into single membrane drums which are used as tom toms during festivals. The "elegede" vegetable is a unique plant,indeed.

Photos

The fruits of the "Elegede" vegetable on sale at the "Isolo Road" end of the boisterious Mushin Market. The above fruits weigh between 1.0kg and 10.0kg

Article 64: "Odunkun"- The "Lesser Yam"

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

A very palatable and nutritious agricultural product that comes out during the latter part of the rainy season is the "lesser yam", loxally called "Odunkun" in the vernacular. It is biologically called "Dioscorea esculanta, Family Dioscoreaceae".

The lesser yam grows like the conventional yam-i.e climbing up to about twelve meters high on stakes. When matured, it has numerous shallow-rooted tubers. The tubers are relatively small compared with conventional yams, and they are found in clusters of some 5 to 20, slightly below the surface of the soil.

"Odunkun", the lessser yam, is cultivated around the coastal south of Nigeria, up to the Yoruba-speaking south-westhern part of the country. It is a 6-10 months crop with short dormancy period. Though the yield is high, the tubers do not store well; they are not suitable for transport to distant markets. The main advantage is that when cooked by boiling, the tubers are paslatable and nutritious!

PHOTO:

"Odunkun", the Lesser Yam", on sale at a rural market on the outskirts of Lagos State.

Article 63: African Cucumber/Balsan Pear

By S. Olnarewaju Disu

The above-named plant, which is prominet during the rains, is a climber or trailer, having annual stems that grow to about five meters in lenght. Here in Lagos State, it is called "Ejinrin nla" or "Ejinrin weeri". Historically, the " African Cucumber" is widespraed throughout the tropics, especailly in lowland rain-forests as well as wooded areas.

Botanically, the "African Cucumber" is known as the "Mormordica chanrantia, Family Cucurbitaceae"; in other words, it is a plant of the gourd family. The name "African Cucumber" is derived from the fruit of this vine.

The principal uses of the plant are as a laxative, for stomach-ache and to treat fevers. Here in Nigeria, the leaves are steeped in water for taking internally against diarrhea and dysentery. The plant is also used as an aphrodisiac and administered in lager doses for gonorrhea.

Traditionally, the leaves and indeed the whole plant are used for treatment of diverse ailments: tooth-ache in children, boils, ulcers, septic swellings and infected feet.

The "African Cucumber" plant is often available for sale on weekly market-days in large markets in Lagos area, e.g the "Oyingbo" market, the "Mushin" market and the "Agege" market. Indeed, most farmers bring down the plants on special request from traditional herbal sellers at dawn on market days.

Photo's:

(A) The "African Cucumber"- or "Ejinrin" on sale at the "Agege" market.

(B) The leaf of the "African Cucumber".

Article 62: Cabbage

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

An exotic agricultural product on sale in several daily markets in Lagos Metropolitan Area is the cabbage. Historically, the cabbage is of European origin. It is a leafy plant with a short stem and a dense lobular head of usually green or light green leaves.

Cabbage is scientifically known as "Brassica oleracea capitata", and it used as a vegetable. It is readily available all year round. There are some areas in Nigeria e.g. the Jos Plateau Area in the North and the Mambilla Plateau in the Southern part of the country whose climate and temperature are close to European climate and weather thereby encouraging the growth of exotic vegetables like cabbage. In addition, modern air cargo services encourage the importation of fresh agricultural products like cabbage and apples from places like South Africa and Europe into Nigeria on a regular basis.

Needless to reiterate, there are ready markets for cabbage in Lagos Area. In Addition to its general use as a vegetable, cabbage is used in the preparation of salads, coleslaw, soups and stew. It is also used in food dressing. Fast food restaurants use it as a filling for snacks. Furthermore, some indigenes use cabbage together with beef to make a local delicacy known as "shawama". Large and sophisticated hotels and restaurants as well as eat-outs sell cabbage based food frequently. Beef burgers, cheese burgers etc are items that are prepared with fresh cabbage, because of its firmness and crispness.

Nutritionally, cabbage contains essential vitamins and mineral. It is considered by experts to be good remedy for cold and flu. it is said to have anti-bacterial properties. Cabbage is also said to strengthen the immunological system. It is high in fiber content and helps control blood glucose levels and reduces cholesterol. Its high content of Vitamin C is said to help in figthing cold, sniffles and other infections. A wonderful vegetable indeed!

Photo's

Cabbage on retail at the "Ejigbo Market"

Article 61: "Achara" The Spear Grass Vegetable

By S. Olarewaju Disu

A strikingly different vegetable plant on sale in some Lagos Area Markets is the "achara"- "the spear grass" vegetable. It is a rhizomatous, perennial grass with usually scally-like leaves, tufted base and slender inflorescence, rising up to one meter in height.

Botanically, the "achara" is known as " Imperata cyclindra, family Gramineae". Though the plant is prone to fire, the rhizomes are tough and rigorous and do survive burning.

The "achara" (spear grass) serves several purposes : food for man (especially people from the southern and south-eastern parts of Nigeria); the young foliage, being tender, serves as grazing material for stock; the older culms are used for thatching of roofs in the rural areas; the aqueous extracts of the leaves and stems have been been reported in laboratory experiments to show some actions on tumors. The root contains sugars. It is a proven diuretic and it's also used as an anti-dysenteri. Furthermore, a decoction of the dried plant is taken as a gargle for sore throat.

Culturally, the plant is invoked in a yoruba incantation "to make a husband fight with his wife"!

PHOTO:

Cuttings of "ACHARA", the "Spear Grass" Vegetable, on the at the "Ejigbo Market".

Article 60: "EFO YANRIN"-Wild Lettuce

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

The wild lettuce which locals here call "efo yarin" in vernacular is botanicaly known as "Launaea taraxacifolia, Family Compositae". The leaves of this vegetable plant are eaten fresh as a salad or cooked in soups and sauces. The plant is often grown for cropping the leaves which are sold in markets as cooked or rolled up balls prepared for use. The mineral content of the leaves is known to be relatively high (21.8%)

Traditionally, the plant is burnt to ashes to prepare vegetable. Some cattle farmers in the northern parts of the country feed the leaves to cows-in-milk to increase the yield;and also to sheep and goats-mixed with "natron" to produce multiple births!Natron is a hydrated local sodium carbonate.

Photo: The "Efo Yanrin"-Wild Lettuce

Article 59: "EFINRIN" (The Scent Leaf)

By S.Olanrewaju Disu

The "Efirin" (scent leaf) is an important vegetable sold in large markets in Lagos Area because of its manifold medicinal usages. The "efirin" is a very peculiar plant in the tropics. It is a shrub that grows up to 1-2m in height. Since ancient times, this plant has been connected with the traditional treatment of fever in our clime, hence its acronyms such as "fever plant","fever leaf","mosquito plant" as well as "scent leaf"It is commonly grown around houses as a mosquito repellant.

The botanical name of "efinrin", the scent leaf is "Ocimum grattissimum, Family Labiatae". The many uses to which the plant is subjected to locally are incredible. To mention some of the uses, the leaf serves as a decongestant for head colds, bronchitis and sinusitis. The pulped foilage is belived to have antiseptic properties. The leaf is also chewed traditionally for all tooth and gum disorders.

Some ethnic peoples livings in Lagos State e.g the Ijaws from the south-southern part of Nigeria eat the leaves in sauces and soups with meat and condiments to embrace the taste; while others put the leaves into salads.

Finally, it is good to report that the plant has magical attributes too!In rural tropical West Africa, it is fetish for exorcising spirits and demons. The Yoruba's traditionally use the plant in an "Odu" incantation to imprecatewitches already in a house to departand to fumigate a house as protection against witches entering.

Photos: The "efirin" vegetable on sale at the "Wey Street" Weekly Farmers' Market

Article 58: The "Ebolo" Vegetable

By S.Olanrewaju Disu

In Lagos Area Market, the "ebolo" vegetable is uncommon i.e. it does not appear all year round. The vegetable comes out only after the arrival of the new yam, deep into the rainy season and sells like a "rare" commodity . It is botanically called "Crassocephalum rubens, Family Comopositae".

This vegetable is an erect herb that grows up to one meter in height and is widespread in the tropical lowlands. The whole young plant and the semi succulent leaves are mucilaginous and are a pot-herb eaten in soups and sauces. The leaves are slightly laxative and here in Nigeria the whole plant may be used for the cure of stomach ache. traditionally, the leaf sap is also applied to sore eyes. Among traditional herbalists, the powdered root of the plant is used to prepare a paste for external application to breast cancer patients.

Photo:

(I) A section of "Wey Street" weekly farmers' market where the "Ebolo" vegetable is sold.

(II) The"Ebolo" Vegetable at close range

Article 57: The "Afang" Vegetable

By S.Olanrewaju Disu

This vegetable is very popular among the ethnic peoples of southern and south-eastern Nigeria resident in Lagos Metropolitan Area. The Efik and Ibibio peoples call it 'afang' while the Igbo's call it "okazi". It is botanically known as "Gnetum africanum, Family Gnetaceae"

This vegetable is a rain forest liane of South-Eastern Nigeria. The plant is not cultivated;the leaves are collected as forest products. Wherever it occurs, the "afang" vegetable is valued as a tasty vegetable, usually eaten finely shredded for addition to soup or made up into condiments, or even taken raw.

In Lagos Area market especially the Oyingbo market and markets in and around Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of the State where people from the South -Eastern parts of Nigeria are in the predominance presence. The Afang vegetable is a common article of market trade. This vegetable is eaten as a greatly appreciated pot-herb and is also cooked with the water leaf.

Traditionally, the "Afang" vegetable is taken as a medicine for enlarged spleen, for sore throat and as a purgative medicine.

Photo' The "Afang" vegetable on sale at the Oyingbo Market and being shredded, preparatory to cooking

Article 56: BITTER LEAF

By S.O. Olanrewaju Disu

The bitter leaf soup is a very important vegetable in our daily lives in Lagos State. Though it can be purchased in many of our markets all year round in Lagos area and beyond, the bitter leaf, because of its diverse uses, is found more in our gardens and homesthan in markets generally. Wherever it grows, it flourishes.

Its scientific name is "Vernonia amygdalina, Family Compositae"Its vernacular name is "ewuro"- meaning something bitter. During the rainy season, the "bitter leaf" plant grows so much foilage. There are several species-some large, leafy and deep green leaves, while some have comparatively smaller leaves. The leaves are very bitter. The bitterness is usually removed by boiling before the leaves are cooked as soups or added to soups made with other vegetables or eaten as spinach.

Generally, the Igbo speaking members of the populace use the bitter leaf mostly as a vegetable while the Yoruba 's use it more as medicine.

The leaves are also taken as an appetizer and digestive tonic. Furthermore, they are held to be anti-scorbutic. Bitter leaves are widely used for fevers and leaf decoction is usually taken as laxative among our local people. Traditionally, some women, immediately after childbirth may take a decoction of the leaves to affect their milk so as to act as a prophylactic against worms in the baby. Also traditionally, bitter leaves are rubbed on the brests for weaning infants.

The wood of the bitter leaf plant as well as the twigs are used as traditional chewing sticks and a tooth cleaner for some highly traditional members of the populace in Lagos State.

Because of the diverse usefulness of the bitter leaf, the plant is commonly grown as a hedge or compound fence. At times in homes with gardens and bitter leaf plants, bitter leaf seeds are used as aphrodisiac and the powdered seeds used as worm expeller.

Photo's

(A) The "bitter leaf" plant growing in a garden in Lagos Area

(B) A bunch of bitter leaf vegetables on sale at the "Oyingbo Market"

(C) Bitter leaf Vegetables at close range

Article 55: "UTAZI"

By S.O. Olanrewaju Disu

This vegetable is very popular among the Igbo speaking residents of the state, is a climber from a tuberous root and the leaves serve as a vegetable. Its stems are soft and pliable.

The "Utazi" vegetable is botanically known as "Gongronema latifolium, Family Aselepiadaceae"

The Yoruba speaking populace of the state call it "arokeke". During the rainy season, it is available in abundance and cheaply too.

This vegetable is eaten cooked in soups either by itself or in conjuction with others e.g. "okro" or "ugu"- the fulted pumlin vegetable. Dried stockfish, crayfish and other condiments are normally added to enhance the palatability of soups made from "utazi" vegetables.

Illustrative photos : (A) The "utazi" vegetable on sale at the "Oyingbo" Market

Article 54: "EWEDU" - The Long Fruited Vegetable

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.

Article 53: "AMUNUTUTU" OR EUROPEAN HERB, INDIAN SPINACH, OR "MALABAR NIGHT SHADE"

By S. O. Olanrewaju Disu

In Lagos area, the rainy season is more or less our "vegetables" season:annuals, perenials as well as those appearing sub spontaneously. The above named vegetable with a long list of names is an Afro-Asian plant. Locally, it is known as "amunututu" which literally means "a cool appetiser to the stomach" and also 'Toromoganna", which means 'a wall climber".

This vegetable is succulent, scrambling twiner. Historically, it is a polymorphic Afro-Asian plant, but its now dispersed across the tropics by man. It is both an annual and/or short lived perennial. It is scientifically known as "Basella alba, Family Basellaceae"It is easily raised from seed and by cuttings. It is known to tolerate conditions of high humidity but prefers a drier tropical climate.

The species of the above named vegetable that are available in our markets are usually green, but sometimes also dark red and the leaves are eaten as a vegetable. The leaves are said to be high in calcium and iron and to be a good source of vitamins A, B and C. Inmdigenes nick named this vegetable as "seje sooro" meaning "causing blood to yield freely"

Article 52: Lagos Spinach "Sokoyokoto"

By S. Olanrewaju Disu

The "Lagos Spinach" is a very popular vegetable in Lagos Metropolitan area markets. It is commonly sold in our markets all year round. A perenial herb, this vegetable makes an excellent pot-herb and a good, slightly bitter spinach relatively rich in protein and vitamins. The leaves are slightly diuretic. While being cooked, its slight bitterness is counteracted by the addition of ground melon and condiments:these enhance the taste of the soup tremendously.

The "Lagos Spinach" is botanically called "Celosia argentia, Family Amaranthaceae". In Lagos State , the vegetable is extremely popular among the Yoruba speaking populace. The Yoruba's call it "sokoyokoto". to emphasize the esteem in which the vegetable-plant is held by the Yoruba's the name 'Sokoyokoto" means "make husband fat"

During the dry season, this vegetable is scarce and costly. Farmers and gardners who engage in dry season farming make brisk business selling "Lagos Spinach" during theis time. During the rainy season, however, the vegetable is very plentiful and sells cheaply . The markets are always overflowing with it.

Illustrating Photos

Green Leafy 'Lagos Spinach" vegetables , alias "Sokoyokoto" on sale at the "Ejigbo" and "Idimu" Markets