ENTRY: jambu


CLASS: noun


SCIENTIFIC NAME: Spilanthes acmella


EQUIVALENT: paracress, jambu


DEFINITION: Amazonian herb whose slightly bitter dark green leaves provoke numbness on the tongue and lips. It is a key ingredient of typical dishes such as tacacá and pato no tucupi.


EXAMPLE: Cook paracress in water for 10 minutes, leaving smaller sprigs whole.


SOURCE: Sabor do Brasil


COMMENT: Herb derived from the tropical zones of Brazil and widely spread in the North of the country, especially in Pará, from where it gets the English name, ‘paracress’. Its leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in stews. Also used as an ornamental plant in different parts of the world, this flowering herb, relative of the coca plant, has medicinal properties for containing Spilanthol, an analgesic agent. Due to this property, it is popularly known as toothache plant.


CLUSTERS: bunch(es) paracress; paracress leaves