In this world of chaos, be an ordered human and grow longevity spinach. Growing this will ultimately lead to adding it to your diet, and you will end up being Popeye, the sailor man for sure. For years, we have heard that we are what we eat, and that’s what we are. However, in addition to this, we are what we grow. So make a big combo out of eating and growing and plant it at home today.
As the name suggests, This is a vegetable plant and is famous worldwide. The origin of longevity spinach lies in Southeast Asia, Africa, Malaysia, and China. They grow in tropical climate zones and are usually native to terrestrial habitats. You can think of this healthy spinach as semi-succulent (plants that have some thicker parts), a low-growing plant that spreads along the ground where it is grown and can be potted.
The ways of consuming these vegetables are fun. What else you need if you can crush the leaves of your self-grown plant and put them in your tea, smoothies, soups and enjoy the petty raw flavour this vegetable offers. Sandwiches and salads are never complete without longevity spinach. An amazing fact about this vegetable is that it can be consumed raw too. When cooked, it gives similar viscosity as that of okra and can be used to thicken soups, stews, and sauces; however, it is quite similar to regular spinach.
There are endless possibilities in which you can consume this vegetable. This vegetable has many perks to enjoy. Longevity spinach is what you would want to grow at your home for your entire life and do not get bored. It requires fewer efforts to grow and gives many benefits to the grower.
Classification of longevity Spinach
The scientific name for this vegetable is gyunara procumbens, and it for sure belongs to the kingdom Plantae. The family to which this plant belongs is Asteraceae and the order Asterales. The genus is Gynura.
Common Names for Longevity Spinach
This plant has many names, and you can call it with any of them. This lovely vegetable won’t mind if you call it:
- Gynura procumbens
- Moluccan spinach
- Daun Dewa
- Sambung nyawa
- Sabungai plant
Features of Longevity Spinach Plant
Not only is longevity spinach a health master, but is a beauty pro too. While you grow it for getting health benefits, it will also add beauty to your home as all other plants. If we talk about the features of sabungai plant, then they can be listed as:
Height
The maximum height to which it can grow is 12 inches, and the minimum height is 6 inches. So we can say that the longevity spinach plant can grow between 6-12 inches.
Colour
The colour of this vegetable is green.
Longevity Spinach flowers
When there is a spring season, it grows flowers. An orange inflorescence is grown on the axillary stem. Hence, these are Angiosperms, which means they are flowering seed plants and are dicotyledonous.
Shrub
This plant grows in the form of herbaceous shrubs. Shrubs are plants that are smaller than a tree and have stems rising at the ground.
Perennial
This plant is perennial, which means that it can live for many years.
Leaves
It has fleshy and smooth leaves that are rounder in shape to ovate. The leaves are greenish on the upper side and are purplish underside. The width of its leaves is 3.5 centimetres and is 8 centimetres long.
Autotrophic
This plant manufactures complex compounds that are organic and nutritious. It makes these compounds with the help of simple compounds such as water, carbon dioxide, and nitrates.
Longevity Spinach Benefits
When discussing the benefits this vegetable offers, take a deep breath and sit attentively because you would be getting a long list of benefits. Go through the list provided below to know about the advantages of adding it to your diet.
Maintains Blood Sugar Level
We know that a healthy diet plays a vital role in maintaining our sugar levels. Research indicates that this plant can be used to lower your blood sugar levels. This vegetable can also treat diabetes to some extent. Specialists have experimented with a balanced intake of this plat on diabetic patients in African regions and have impressive results.
Lowers Cholesterol
Gynura procumbens longevity can also reduce cholesterol levels and triglycerides present in your blood because it has anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. Lower levels of cholesterol ultimately prevent heart and liver diseases.
Weight Loss
What else does a weight-conscious person would long for? The deeper you go into the benefits of this vegetable, the more exciting they become. Believe it or not, you can lose weight by adding this vegetable to your diet.
Cure to Rheumatism
The genera vegetable is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It has many alkaloids, steroids, and bioactive constituents. The alkaloids and steroids present this plant. Inflammation can be warded off with the help of alkaloids and steroids found in this plant. For this reason, it has been used by many practitioners to treat Rheumatism. This disease cause inflammation, pain in muscles or joints as longevity spinach is inflammatory so it can be used as a treatment.
Prevents Hypertension
A person who has a higher level of blood pressure is most likely to suffer from hypertension. Hypertension could be deadly if it is not treated. Many experimental results have proven that Gynura procumbens can be used to prevent hypertension by increasing nitric oxide production in blood vessels. Nitric oxide functions in dilating the blood vessels, which helps in allowing for smooth blood flow. You can use it as an alternative to taking medicines for high blood pressure.
Protects Against Ulcer
You can happily add this tasty and tender vegetable to protect you against different kinds of ulcers in your everyday diet.
Anti-ageing
UV light exposure causes damage to our skin, so these plants help in this case too. This is one of the most amazing effects of this plant.
Heals External Wounds
Just crush some leaves of this leafy legend and apply them directly on your wounds for some days. You will feel the healing
Protection From Liver Damage
Exposure to environmental toxins leads to the release of free radicals, which can damage the liver. So the regular intake of this vegetable can save you from this problem too.
Longevity Spinach Care
The more you care for your leafy legend, the more it will care for you. Every plant requires some care and attraction, so does the longevity spinach. The care instructions to follow for keeping your longevity plant are listed below.
Water Requirements
This plant has an average need for watering. So you can water them regularly but do not overwater them; otherwise, they may get damaged.
Sunlight Requirements
This plant requires full sun to shade to grow. However, growing it in partial shade will be more feasible. You can make it adaptive to the full sun by regular intervals so that the roots of your do not get dry.
Outdoors
During summer, you are free to put this plant on your patio or hang this beautiful low-growing vegetable outdoors where it will bloom with very fragrant flowers resembling much more to daisy and attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. It would be so breathtaking.
Indoors
If you grow it indoors, make sure to keep it in a place where it gets a lot of sunlight.
Soil Requirements
Choose the soil with the right pH level, and the right growing conditions are mandatory. You should use moister soil for growing it.
Temperature Requirements
Growing it at 70 degrees Fahrenheit will keep your gyunra plant happy and healthy. This is the ideal temperature for your plant.
Longevity Spinach Propagation
The process of propagating it is straightforward and can be done in simple three steps.
- Take the plant cuttings
- Place these cuttings into water and soil
- Root them and let them grow with the right conditions.
Another way through which you can propagate your Gynura plant is
- Take an established plant of longevity spinach.
- Take out the rooted stem.
- Plant this stem somewhere else and let it grow.
The better method for propagation between the methods mentioned above is the second one. In the second process, we have roots already present in the stem we have cut from an established plant so your plant will grow quicker.
Pest Problem
As this leafy vegetable is an edible plant, it can have pest issues. The beetles could be its significant enemies as they enjoy eating this juicy vegetable. Moreover, aphids and stress plants can also cause damage to your plants. When you grow your plant as a ground cover, it may suffer from airflow deficiency, leading to fungal infections in the plant. You should prune your plant whenever you find any fungal infection in it.
Harvesting Longevity Spinach
Harvesting refers to gathering the final product after all your hard work on that plant. There are two methods through which you can harvest it. The first one is to pinch off the leaves from the tips of the stems of your plant. The second method is to remove leaves from a long pruned stem from your plant. Out of these two harvesting longevity spinach methods, the second one is better because it promotes new growth and is more manageable.
Summary
Consequently, longevity spinach is a magical plant. Either you grow it to enhance your home’s beauty or enjoy the health perks it provides, you will never be disappointed with your gynura legend. It has Not only beautiful and attractive orange blossoms but also has many health benefits. You can’t ignore the number of benefits it provides. It is used to cure many diseases and helpful in making the immune and digestion system stronger.
You can grow it either indoors and outdoors in moist soil. If you pot this plant to keep it indoors, keep pruning it.
Moreover, it has divine taste. You can’t stop yourself from putting this vegetable into your salads, sandwiches, and smoothies. So go and grow your longevity plant today.
