Bitter leaf

Its bitter leaves go into ndolé – a stew with peanuts and prawns regarded as Cameroon’s national dish.

Vernonia amygdalina is a shrub or small tree of the daisy family, usually 2–5 m tall, with elliptic, dark green leaves and small whitish flower heads. The leaves are exceptionally bitter owing to sesquiterpene lactones and saponins, so before cooking they are repeatedly kneaded, rinsed and blanched. The plant roots easily from cuttings, tolerates pruning well and is often grown as a hedge. In African folk medicine it is used for fever, malaria and stomach complaints.

Significance in the country

Ndolé, which originated in the cuisine of the Duala people of the coast, is Cameroon’s best-known dish: the leaves stewed with peanut paste and prawns, fish or beef, served with plantains or miondo. Fresh and rinsed leaves are sold at every market in the country.

Where it grows

Grown in gardens and fields throughout the southern half of the country – in the Littoral (around Douala), Centre, South, South-West, West and East regions.

More: Wikipedia (en)