Today I want to share this little jungle that was right in the front yard of the house i was staying at in Foz Do Iguaçu, Brasil. It was a garden at some point but the chicken fence had fallen and now only the larger plants were able to survive those hungry fellas.
Palki, a fellow Chilean who invited me there, was the main coordinator of this space and who taught me about some of the plants that were growing there. He didn't have all the names, but at least i was able to learn a few.
I really liked this plant, popularly called "burrito" (little donkey), it has a sweet minty taste, perfect for infusion. Aloysia polystachya is commonly used in tereré which is a cold beverage from yerba mate, extremely popular in Paraguay where you can see street vendors selling it in almost every street and you can see people everywhere drinking it.
It is very easy to reproduce as it can grow new roots from the stem effortlessly.
Papaya tree, mamão in Portuguese. I was curious as to when the fruits mature as everywhere i went there where green fruits. Palki explained to me that they mature al year but as soon as there is a ripe fruit people harvest it so it's rare to see them like that.
This one is my absolute favorite: ora-pro-nobis, also called "poor folk's meat". It is a plant is super nutritios as indicated in this study:
Ora-pro-nóbis presented concentrations of TDF (3.73 g 100 g-1), ash (0.96 g 100 g-1), lipids (1.45 g 100 g-1), protein (1.27 g 100 g-1), carotenoids (3.15 mg 100 g-1), total vitamin E (438.68 µg 100 g-1), Ca (427.08 mg 100 g-1), Mg (88.84 mg 100 g-1), Mn (3.46 mg 100 g-1), Fe (13.89 mg 100 g-1) and K (689.41 mg 100 g-1). The species was considered a source of TDF, a good source of Mg, Cu and K, and an excellent source of vitamin A, Ca, Mn, Fe and Se.
The sciency name of ora-pro-nobis is Pereskia aculeata Mill., and a distinctive feature are these little spikes along the vine. It grows very fast and you can add it's leaves to salads raw or as cooked greens in a meal.
Apparently red devil verbena (glandularia peruviana). Used traditionally for fevers and headaches. Not 100% sure, so do your own research if you have something similar growing near you.
This one was mentioned for it's fruits, which are used as beads for collars and rosaries, since they are hard as stone. After some research, I'm pretty positive its a variety of coix lacrima, though it is considered invasive in Brasil. But let's be honest, invasiveness isn't a good concept when referring to plants as the reality is that they will grow where the conditions are offered, and humans have a larger role in creating different conditions.
Don't know what this one is, we didn't talk about it. Beautiful nonetheless.
So, what do you think? Pretty cool having a jungle growing outside your house, isn't it? I think in some time i might go back there to keep helping Palki and the crew as they were very chill people with nice ideals.