The King Salad

A great favourite of authentic Malaysian traditional salads, the Ulam raja or King Salad plant is actually planted for its pretty pink, white or purple flowers in various other parts of the world. The flower is better know by its Latin name "Cosmos" which is derived from its scientific name Cosmos caudatus. Here in Malaysia, we don't eat the flowers but we do devour the young leaves with great gusto either simply dipped in various spicy sauces and condiments or else stirfried with prawns and other ingredients.

 

When it is eaten raw with chilli paste or other condiments and sauces, it is referred to as "ulam" which can mean salad or even herbal mix for beauty or medicinal purposes.

But it is most popular by itself, its fresh scent being reminiscent of mango leaves and the crunchy texture of its young leaves being much appreciated with plain white rice. In Indonesia, it is also eaten with cooked grated coconut or a spicy peanut sauce.

One reason for its popularity is the simple fact that for all its powerful herbal properties, unlike many other similarly effective herbs, it can be eaten with no side effects. 

So what do we eat it for (other than the delicious taste)?

1. It helps with control of diabetes. After eight weeks of regular consumption, it lowers blood insulin levels significantly.

2. It helps people with cholesterol problems by increasing good cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol. 

3. It reduces blood pressure.

4. It reduces bone loss.

5. It has antibacterial and anti-fungal effects.

6. It is a strong antioxidant and it reduced inflammation.

So, eating ulam raja with your daily rice is actually a great idea. And if you fancy a bit of variety with it, here are a couple of ideas from Malaysian food bloggers.

Kak Jee's Food Blog 

(click the link for recipe)

Ulam Raja Stir-fried with Ikan Bilis.

A simple but mildly spicy and very deliciously fresh-tasting dish that pairs well with the dried anchovies which give it its mouthwatering umami flavour.

Dapur Tanpa Sempadan 

(click the link for recipe)

Ulam Raja with Grated Coconut

A tempting treat made with grated coconut, dried prawns and galangal or resurrection lily. It goes really great with freshly cooked white rice and can be used as a vegetarian dish if you leave out the dried prawns.

Tiger's Ears in Your Garden!

This beautiful plant is known as "tiger's ears" in Thailand where it is eaten with a meat salad but locally, we call it Bangun bangun. The rest of the English-speaking world either calls it Indian borage, Spanish thyme, Mexican mint or Cuban oregano. It's no surprise that these names are all related to various other fragrant cooking herbs because the bangun bangun does have a strong smell not unlike that of oregano.

There are two types of bangun bangun - a jade green one and a variegated one with white around it's leaf edges but culinary uses aside, Plectranthus amboinicus as it is named scientifically, also has a lot of other wonderful medicinal properties. So many, that it is used almost exclusively for that purpose in Malaysia. 

You can chew on its leaves or make a tea from them to relieve colds, a sore throat, or a stuffy nose because it acts as a powerful expectorant, to eliminate mucus and phlegm from your respiratory tract. It also promotes sweating and helps to reduce fever. It's cold-fighting effect is due to the fact that it actually has a high found ascorbic acid or Vitamin C content. 

The high ascorbic content also means that it stimulated urination and helps to keep your kidneys healthy. But our bangun bangun also has other benefits. 

It is also said to relieve stress, reduce arthritis and osteoporosis, and provide relief from irritable bowel syndrome. Mothers have used it to relieve bug bites, itchiness and stings because Indian borage also has anti-inflammatory properties and helps reduce itchiness and swelling.  

Plectranthus amboinicus has a lot of Vitamin A, as well, and it is sometimes used to improve vision, reduce stress in the eyes and prevent macular degenaration. It's a natural msquito repellant, too!

When it does flower, it has small, pretty blue flowers but of course, with such powerful chemicals in its leaves and stem, it has to be treated with a bit of caution. Pregnant and lactating women should avoid contact with it, as should people with sensitive skin.  

So if you're going to cook beef, lamb or game meat with it, do be careful!

Longevity Spinach

The curiously-named Sambung nyawa ("Life-continuing" in Malay) or Longevity spinach is another common Malaysian plant often mistaken for a weed by the untrained eye. It has humble yellow flowers and looks quite unimpressive. However, its lanceolate leaves are actually not only edible (quite  delicious when young and tender) but also extremely useful as a natural herbal cure for a number of ailments.

Cooked in soup with prawns or meat village or kampung cuisine, there are actually three types of longevity spinach. The simple green one, a variety with variegated leaves called Sambung nyawa batik and a third variety with red, pink or purplish leaves called Sambung nyawa merah. 

It's scientific name, Gynura procumbens, doesn't give much of a clue to the fact that it has antimicrobial and antiinflammatory properties in addition to it's ability to help with hypertension. There are reports that it also has anti-carcinogenic properties. 

It can be eaten raw and it is said that if you chew on 6-12 leaves every day, it will help tremendously with balancing your blood insulin levels. You also lower your risk of cancer because Gynura procumbens also contains asparaginase, an enzyme that lowers acrylamides - a cancer causing substance - in your body.

Sambung nyawa has recently become popular among American gardeners because of its many herbal properties and also because it is very easy to grow. It can grow in shade or sunlight (as long as the roots don't dry out) though semi-shaded areas allow it to thrive best. 

Bitterly wonderful Hempedu Bumi

The Hempedu bumi (picture) or Bitterweed in English is a terribly bitter herb whose many curative properties make it a desirable plant to have around the house. It's Malay name means "bile of the earth" and some people even know it as the "king of bitters". 

It's scientific name is Andrographis panicukala and it is a herbaceous shrub that grows upright. Because it thrives so easily in so many different locales, from the roadside to the seaside, it is often considered a weed by local gardeners. People who know about its wonderful properties like a to keep a pot or two in the garden where it can be safely left to itself, needing only water and trimming to prevent overgrowth.

Hempedu is quite easy to recognise, with its glossy green leaves and 4-sided furrowed stems. It's flowers are small, white and dotted with purple spots. It has fruits, too. They are small, hairy and look like pills but are brown when mature.

Although the whole plant can be eaten raw, it is the hempedu's leaves which are its most wonderful part.  

The bitterweed's leaves are best harvested harvested about two months before the plant starts flowering. That is when its active constituents are most concentrated. Scientists have found that it can not only act as an antioxidant but it also protects your liver from a number of toxins. Though most well-known locally as a cure for sore throats, traditional medicine men have even used it to relieve fever, as a cure for poisoning and an antidote for snake bite!

When its juices are extracted and concentrated, it is even more powerful. In fact, hempedu extract is even available in capsule form nowadays.

Beautiful but deadly!

If you're a frequent trekker in the Gardens and hilly areas of Penang, you might have come across this beautiful snake. It's called Ular Kapak Daun or literally "Axe Leaf Snake" in Malay but its English name is the Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma rhodostoma). Do try to leave it alone if you spot it because it's a most lethal beauty.

The Ular Kapak Daun doesn't grow very big. It's usually no more than a metre in length but it's beautiful camouflage and bad temper make it a beauty best regarded from a distance. About 2% of people bitten by it die. Surviviors have been known to lose their arms or legs because they could not reach a source of anti-venom in time.

In the short but most interesting article below, by Ajla Rafidah Baharom and Kaviarasu Munian (edited by Lee Su Ee) from www.mybis.gov.my the authors explain about the snake's habits, venom, hunting habits and abilities. 

To read the full article, please click the link below.

Click here to read the full article about Malayan Pit Vipers.

Dragonfly or Damselfly?

You must have encountered these bejewelled insects either in your own garden or at the Botanical Gardens in Penang. They look nearly the same but they are actually two different species of insects. 

Both damselflies and dragonflies come in wonderful colurs that can range from metallic black with glimmers of rainbow flashes to a red as brilliant as fresh blood. 

But did you know that apart from being as beautiful as flying gems, both dragonflies as well as damselflies play an important role in keeping the population of nuisance species like mosquitoes and flies down? Baby dragonflies and damselflies are called nymphs but look nothing like water fairies. 

In fact, they look more like dragons and they also behave like dragons. Nymphs, which live in the water, catch and eat tadpoles and the larvae of nuisance species. The adult insects catch their prey on the fly, so to speak, biting off the head with their mouths! 

Here is an interesting article from Malaysia Biodiversity Information about how to tell whether you are looking at a Dragonfly or a Damselfly.

Dragonfly or Damselfly?

For more interesting articles like this, please visit the Malaysia Biodiversity Information website by clicking on the link below.

Malaysia Biodiversity Information

Barringtonia racemosa (L.) Spreng.

An interesting article for our members by Sarah Nabila Binti Rosli (Main Author), Ruth Kiew (Editor) & Lee Su See (Editor) in 

Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS)

https://www.mybis.gov.my/

Barringtonia racemosa is a common shrub to medium-sized tree commonly known as putat ayam or putat kampung. The genus name, Barringtonia, commemorates Daines Barrington, who was a nobleman, lawyer, and also a naturalist who wrote a book on English trees (Nicholson, 1991). The epithet, racemosa, refers to the unbranched and continuous inflorescences. This genus is also distinguished by the absence of stipules and by its large berry fruit. Another characteristic of this genus is the arrangement of the leaves, which are whorled or clustered at the end of the branches.

It is distributed from Africa through the Pacific islands including the Solomons, Fiji and Samoa, Asia including India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Malesia, to Australia. It is widely distributed in the Philipppines, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. It favours open areas with high humidity, for example, along river banks, or coastal areas. This species is the most widespread genus of Barringtonia and is considered of Least Concern (LC), conservation-wise (Prance, 2012).

The Lecythidaceae family is known for the large size of its flowers with a large number of stamens. Barringtonia is recognized by having attractive and long inflorescences, which can reach up to 100 cm and give the plant a most unique appearance. The flowers are white to pale pinkish and strongly scented. They bloom at night but survive for only one night. Bats are important pollinators for this species.

Most parts of the tree contain saponins which are naturally occurring plant glycosides that are poisonous. The seed is usually used medicinally for various ailments and diseases since it contains the highest concentration of glycosides. The extract of all parts of the plant may be used as an insecticide. In the Philippines, the fruit is used to poison wild pigs (Burkill, 1966). However, the young leaves are not poisonous, and the local Kelantanese eat it as a vegetable or ulam. In the past, the tannin yielded from the bark was used as a natural red dye to colour leather goods (Burkill, 1930).

References

1. Burkill I.H. & Haniff M. (1930). Malay Village Medicine. The Gardens' Bulletin, Straits Settlements6: pp. 201
2. Burkill I.H., Birtwistle W., Foxworthy F.W., Scrivenor J.B. & Watson J.G.. (1966). A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula (A-H) (2nd ed.). Ministry of Agriculture and cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3. Nicholson G. (1991). Encyclopaedia of Plants. New Delhi: Anmol Publications, India. pp. 159.
4. Prance G.T. (2012). Lecythidaceae. In Kiew R., Chung R.C.K., Saw L.G. & Soepadmo E. (eds.) Flora of Peninsular Malaysia, Series II: Seed Plants (pp. 203). Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM).

Published on 17 May 2018. Updated by Mr. Abdul Razak Mohd Nor Rasid & Ms. Ajla Rafidah Baharom