Calligonum polygonoides
Uses
India (Rajasthan): the buds of this plant are picked during February and March, when food is scarce. They are eaten with buttermilk and salt; (Western Rajasthan): fruit usually eaten raw; buds and flowers eaten as vegetable. (Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikanir, Kishengarh, Jaisalmer): smooth stems and branches, abortive [sic] flowers and small succulent fruit eaten. Flowers made into bread or cooked with ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil.
Additional Information
- Name Authority:
- L.; Pall.
- Vernaculars:
- Rajasthan (Jaisalmer district) (plant): Phog; (bud): Lassan. Rajasthan (western), Punjab, Sindh (fruit): Phog. Also: Phogla, Phogalli (fruit); Tirni (root). Trans-Indus, Afghanistan: Balanja, Berwaja, Tatuke.
- Misc:
- Chemical composition (after Hooper): Albumenoids = 12.03% (dry). Ash = 11.10% (dry). Nitrogen = 1.92% (dry). Phosphoric acid = .38% (dry). Silicates = .38% (dry). Soil types favored by plant: sand dunes and sandy, undulating plains.