Accession Data

Acmella oleracea

Common Name: Toothache Plant

Family: Asteraceae

Synonym(s): Spilanthes oleracea L.

Country of Origin: Brazil

Description: Paracress has no particular odour, but when eaten it has an interesting flavour that slowly develops from pleasant and salty to a strong, tickling-burning pungency that leaves back a numb feeling in the mouth. Biting into a flower head of paracress is an adventure long remembered!

The pungent flavour of paracress is due to an unsaturated alkamid, spilanthol, which reaches its highest concentration (1%) in the flowers.

Uses: Culinary use of paracress is today restricted to tropical Brazil, particularly the provinces Acre, Amazonas, Pará and Ceará, where the herb is much used in the cooking styles of the indigenous peoples. There, the strach-containing tubers of manioc is a staple, and since that vegetable has a quite bland taste, it is often flavoured with potent spices. For this purpuse, paracress is often used; the leaves are used fresh, added as a whole and eaten as an additional source of vitamins (and flavour).

Medicinal: Masticatory. Traditional medicine used this plant for a wide range of uses. Modern scientific studies support the health benefits of paracress. (From Philippine Alternative Medicine)

Accession Data

USDA Zone: 9b-11

Accession #: 200700052

Accession Date: 2007-03-19 00:00:00

Bloom Status: 🪴 Not Flowering

Location: 1307

Quantity: 1

Source: Jardin Botanique De La Gacilly 2007 Index Seminum

Classification

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Subclass: euasterid II

Order: Asterales

Family: Asteraceae

SubFamily: Asteroideae

Tribe: Heliantheae

SubTribe: Spilanthinae

Flowering Data:

This accession has been observed in bloom on:
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

References

  1. A brief article on Spilanthes
  2. Gernot Katzer's Spice Dictionary - last visited on 27 November 2009
  3. An article from All Things Considered on NPR.org
  4. Acmella oleracea. (2010, October 5). Wikispecies, . Retrieved 12:45, September 12, 2014.
  5. The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Thursday, May 17, 2018.
  6. Acmella oleracea at ARS-GRIN. Last accessed on Thursday, May 17, 2018.
  7. Acmella oleracea at Catalogue of Life. Last accessed on Thursday, May 17, 2018.

Images

Acmella oleracea