Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (Apiaceae)
- Scientific name
- Centella asiatica (L.) Urban
- Family name
- Apiaceae (Syn. Umbelliferae)
- Common name
- Asiatic pennywort (English); tsubokusa (Japanese)
- Local name
- Bua bok, pa-na-e khaa-doh, phak waen, phak nok
Small, slender creeping herb, often longer than 40 cm. Leaves simple, orbicular-reniform, margin crenate, 2–5 cm in diameter. Petiole 2-4 cm long, up to 10–12 cm on sterile branches. Inflorescence an umbel, solitary or fascicular, axillary. Flowers single or clustered up to 5, small, whitish or reddish, subsessile. Fruit suborbicular, compressed, 3–3.5 mm in diameter; mericarps reticulate, with several ribs.
Common weed in wet areas and shady open spaces. Sometimes grown as a vegetable in small gardens. Easily propagated by runners.
Fresh leaves taste slightly bitter and are added to dishes such as yum bai bua bok (spicy salad) in north-eastern Thailand and to laap (spicy chopped meat salads) or fried noodles in Northern Thailand.
Fresh leaves taste slightly bitter and are added to dishes such as yum bai bua bok (spicy salad) in north-eastern Thailand and to laap (spicy chopped meat salads) or fried noodles in Northern Thailand.