Description
An erect annual herb with silvery-pink to purple flower spikes, cultivated as a leaf vegetable known as Lagos spinach or soko.
Medicinal Uses
Seeds and leaves are used in traditional medicine for eye ailments, diarrhoea, and as an anthelmintic.
Food Uses
Young leaves and shoots are a popular cooked vegetable across West Africa, especially in Nigerian cuisine.
Cultivation
An easily grown annual, cultivated from seed in home gardens and market farms, and also occurring as a wild weed.
