Gynandropsis gynandra is an edible wild weedy indigenous vegetable used as a cooked vegetable to cooked starch meal of cooked corn, cooked sorghum, or cooked finger millet. It is sometimes eaten with steamed sweet potatoes during festival times.
Specific species diversity seed were selected with farmers in East Africa for edibility and "cultural sweetness/likability". Cleome gynandra is specifically known and selected for food by diverse time-tested and tried communities. Which specific specie diversity do you know for food/healing values as a meal?
Please have a look at this link and PDF attachment.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289312087_Assessment_of_genetic_variation_of_selected_spiderplant_Cleome_gynandra_L_morphotypes_from_western_Kenya
Best of Luck
Article Assessment of genetic variation of selected spiderplant (Cle...
Though am not very vested in this field its commonly called (African spiderflower) I only know it by its externally medical uses.It could be used as antirheumatic, disinfectant, rubefacient and vesicant. Though in Place its leaves are used for food.Its other use is the oil from the seed can be used in making soap as well as used killing lice in the hair. Sorry i might not have given the types
To answer your question it would be important to understand its biology and genetic diversity related aspects. From a brief search little helpful information showed up. The species seems to be widely spread, originated in 'Africa' (where exactly?), has many scientific names (synonyms; why is that? taxonomically difficult to handle?) and has possibly not been researched widely and deeply. Any answers?
Kwabena Darko Akuamoah,
I like your points for food is medicine in most African countries for it is considered culturally rude to just fill up your stomach because you are hungry. Your hunger is your need for specific micro-nutrients found in a wide range of edible diversity which may be cooked or eaten raw to sort bodily needs.Where Gynandropsis leaves may be used as a food, the same specific leaves may be used as a first aid to sort out rheumatism which raises the issues as to which aspect of the plant is more important.
It is only now that I realize that IPGRI has published a crop monograph on the species with ample information on taxonomy, (flower) biology, agronomy, germplasm collections, uses, breeding and others. Please see either my ResearchGate portfolio or with the following citation:
Chweya, James A. and Nameus A. Mnzava. 1997. Cat’s whiskers.
Cleome gynandra L. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 11. Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben/International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy or the following website: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245000496_Cat's_whiskers_Cleome_gynandra_L [accessed May 26 2018].
Thank you Johannes M M Engels. The crop monograph by IPGRI was a good representation of scientific research being done then. When i started this working on this crop in KENGO (1985-1996) with funding support from Germany, applied human nutrition by female chefs/grandmothers (plate nutrition) was/has been of concern of families and communities that eat Cats whispers (Cleome gynandra) as a meal, and we needed to" demystify" those myths from "female chef" regional perspective. I wish the "ready -to-eat" cooked works by indigenous communities "plate nutrition" were added to the species then, as the data was available then.
Sustaining the use of useful edible diversity needs the kitchen angle for our future consumers, for the human genome and affiliated livestock need edible diversity to sustain and maintain body biological diversity.
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