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Gynura bicolor
Also called Velvetplant, Okinawa Spinach
Gynura bicolor is a perennial subshrub from the daisy family (Asteraceae), grown mainly as a leafy vegetable and herb in East and Southeast Asia. It is easy to grow in warm, humid conditions and is often kept as an ornamental or houseplant in cooler climates.
Gynura bicolor, also called hongfeng cai (紅鳳菜) in Chinese, suizenjina (水前寺菜) in Japanese, Okinawan spinach or edible gynura, is a member of the chrysanthemum family (Asteraceae). It is native to China, Thailand, and Myanmar but grown in many other places as a vegetable and as a medicinal herb.
There are two kinds: one that is green on both sides, and another with leaves that are green on the top and purple underneath. Both kinds are considered medicinal vegetables. Gynura bicolor is a perennial and therefore found for sale throughout the year, however, winter and spring are the best times to use the plant.
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, toxic to the human liver, have been discovered in Gynura bicolor tested from five regions in China. No significant genotoxic effects were found. Samples collected from one region, Jiangsu, displayed weak cytotoxicity at the concentration of 100mg/ml, indicating that some caution should be had.
Another study found that the plant generally has a negligible level of toxicity when administered orally and has been labeled safe in experimental rats. The plant was not cytotoxic to the normal cell line and "confirmed the safety of the G. bicolor for consumption." The study also found that the plant had a chemoprevention potential.
Gynura bicolor contains high levels of vitamin C, crude protein, iron, carotenoids, calcium, essential amino acids, and is a rich source of anthocyanins.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gynura bicolor by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
