ACQUIZHEN

Para cress - Acmella oleracea

A curious plant. Its appearance is quite ornamental with long stalked dense yellow flower heads held above glossy leaves.  Acmella oleracea is a species that has been cultivated as a vegetable and medicinal plant for hundreds of years. It does not have origins as a wild plant. It is likely that it arose as a descendent of Acmella alba which was cultivated. Acmella alba is native to Peru and Brazil. Yet Acmella oleracea has found a home in Africa where it is cultured throughout and has even become naturalised in East Africa where it favours lakeside marshes. Like chillies its distribution is an artefact of Portugal’s days of exploration. It is thought to have been introduced to the Indian Ocean Islands by the Portuguese and spread to mainland Africa from there. While mostly found in the tropics it will happily grow in the cooler climates of European gardens where it is becoming known as a novelty salad ingredient. Perhaps because of its wide ranging distribution this plant has a variety of informal names in different languages such as Para cress, Toothache plant and Mafane. Its confusing origin also contributed to it initially being given several different scientific names starting with Spilanthes oleracea, modified to Spilanthes acmella and now firmly known as Acmella oleracea.

With the clear naming of a specific plant as Acmella oleracea there is now greater clarity over the precise properties of this plant. Scientific experiments have confirmed the validity of the traditional medicinal use of Acmella oleracea in treatment of mouth ailments including toothache and gum infections as it has strong antibacterial action. It is poisonous to invertebrates but harmless to warm-blooded animals. This property has made it useful in the treatment of malaria. The leaves and flowers can be served as a steamed vegetable, or raw in salads. When chewed raw it reveals itself to have a unique property. It is one of the few plants which can be experienced as a sensation; it numbs the mouth. The chemical which causes the feeling of numbing, spilanthol, also has a powerful relaxing effect on muscles at the micro level and can be absorbed through the upper layers of skin to the muscle foundation. This makes it effective in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles when applied to the skin in a cream.  It is incorporated into ACQUIZHEN‘s Replenishing Day Cream to provide a product which is efficient at reducing and reversing signs of skin aging. ACQUIZHEN‘s Para cress is grown in La Réunion, an island east of Madagascar located in the Indian Ocean.