Vegetables from local markets in Myanmar

Abstract

This book enumerates the diversity in the prevalence and use of vegetables in parts of Myanmar. It draws on our field studies in Myanmar, where we encountered people consuming interesting plant species as vegetables. For example, we saw parts of the moorva dregea (Wattakaka volubilis), belonging to the family Apocyanaceae, and jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum), belonging to the family Fabaceae, being consumed as vegetables. These plants are generally considered poisonous by scientists. Likewise, the roots of the winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) and the seedlings of the wine palm (Borassus flabellifer), which have a pungent taste, are very popular vegetables in the dry season in Myanmar. Tea is a globally well-known and widely-consumed beverage. However, in Myanmar, Pu’er tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) is consumed as a beverage and a vegetable. The leaf that is consumed as a vegetable is fermented and preserved.