Category Archives: Herbs

When I was given this plant (or rather the cutting of it) by MIL, she told me that it is called Jarum Tujuh and has the medicinal benefit to cure cancer. Since I collected herbal plants, I decided to try and plant it.

It does has sharp thorns along its thin stems, thus the name of Jarum Tujuh. It is said that there are 7 thorns or spines along one stem (which I can’t vouch for since I never check and count it..heh). Some people eat the crunchy leaves or make tea out of it to cure colon, nose and other type of cancer. It is also known as Bintang Tujuh, Cancer Plant and Chat Sim Chan.

Further reading, I found out that Pereskia is a genus of about 25 tropical species and varieties of cacti that do not look much like other types of cacti. Pereskia is the only cactus genus that has persistent non-succulent leaves. It is believed that this is the origin of other cacti.

It propagates through cuttings and seeds. Since the leaves are non-succulent, they drop easily if they don’t get enough water or if it is too hot or dry but can grow back quickly once they get sufficient watering.

UPDATED 25th June 2010: The correct name for this plant is Pereskia bleo.

Taken from a Pharmacognosy journal online:

Pereskia bleo and Pereskia grandifolia, commonly known as ‘Jarum Tujuh Bilah’ in Malaysia belong to the botanical family Cactaceae. Pereskia bleo can be easily confused with Pereskia grandifolia because they are vegetatively similar. However, they can be easily distinguished by the leaves, flowers, and spines. Pereskia bleo has thinner, corrugated leaves, and orangish-red flowers, with shorter spines compared to Pereskia grandifolia. In contrast, Pereskia grandifolia has thicker, uncorrugated leaves, and pink to purplish-pink flowers, with longer and lesser spines.

I grow this bunch of pegaga plants in a pot since 3 years ago. I am not sure what type of pegaga it is because I’m very sure this is not the one that you make kerabu or eat as ulam.

The pegaga I grow have thicker leaves and although some relatives told me it can be blended into juices, I just don’t feel like eating my decorative plants even though by right it belongs to herbs category..heh!

Since it grows in a pot with water inside, for the past few months it becomes the water indicator for my garden. Usually if the weather is very hot and I am unable to water the plants for 2 days in a row, all the leaves will start to droop and dry out. That’s how I know that all the plants in the garden really need the splash of water..huhu!

I’m still trying to plant the type that people eat for ulam since people says eating pegaga could help maintain the youthfulness..haha!

This is what happen when you bought too much fresh turmeric for cooking. In the end all the fresh rhizomes start to grow on their own and I have no choice but to plant them in pots. At the moment I have like 3 pots of turmeric plants.

This time I think my turmeric leaves are all save from being eaten by grasshoppers like last time. But it seems after few weeks there is some pest problem on the leaves side. Maybe lack of water spraying and the unstable climate of hot, dry and wet leads to such problem.

I have moved the plants to some place that accessible to rain so that in case I am too busy to water them, they won’t be in a draught for many days. If all manage to grow well I think I will repot them all into one big pot for easy maintenance.

I have this curry leaves plant for almost 4 years now. By right, it should have grown taller and bigger than this but I don’t know, maybe because I planted it in pot rather than on the ground.

But I am grateful that it is still alive after all these years. I hardly use the leaves except occasionally when I need to fry squid or make some Indian fritters from dhall. But I think it would be a lost if it dies because curry leaves is a common herbs in Malaysian cooking.

Since I simply use a few leaves each time to cook, it would be a hassle to buy a whole lot from the sundry shop everytime I feel like cooking something that has to use it as part of the ingredients.

So my curry plant, grow well and never die, OK! haha!

I have been very busy with my other obligation that I neglect my garden and my gardening blog. Wish I have more time to devote to it. It’s sad to realize how much unloved and uncared for all my plants have been ever since I have been busy.

About 2 months ago my big pandan plant died. I used the leaves mostly for cooking chicken rice and making sweet delicacy. I think pandan leaves is like vanilla pod. You use them for the smell and aroma not really eating the leaves (unless in certain delicacy, you blend the leaves to get the strong fragrant plus the green essence).

So I finally found a nursery that sell herbs plants and I was going crazy with all the plants they have. I almost spent all the money in my wallet buying those flowering plants and herbs I have been dreaming to own for so long.

Now I know where to look for to add to my garden collection. Together with this pandan plants, I bought cempaka and kesidang. (I will take their pictures once they start flowering again) Those two are plants with strong fragrance flowers. Oh, there is another one but I can’t remember the local name.

I have to check the list that the nursery owner gave me. They even prepared a list of all available tropical herbs and plants. Next time I have to tick which one I already bought for easy reference..haha!

Sometimes I thought my lemongrass plants are part of the weeds or lalang that grow on the yard.

Until I take a closer look and see that the lower portion of the thick grass is really serai that you can used in cooking..haha! Should have mowed my lawn more often, huh!

Take a closer look, I never realized it can grow so big.

This serai stalk is sold in KL for 50sen for 2 stalks (unless you go to the big wet market -pasar borong to buy in bulk). That’s why I plant my own lemongrass since for certain dishes you need up to 10-20 stalks.

I had another bunch of serai plant but I think that one is dying. So I plant another bunch for easy use later. Hope this one will survive longer.

If you ever wonder how galangal (lengkuas)plant looks like, check out the picture below. The picture was taken right before it started to rain last week. I have to dig out the rhizome because I need it to cook singgang. If you want to learn what singgang is all about, do drop by at my cooking and food blog, CintaRasa.com later.

I hardly used lengkuas in my cooking so usually when I bought lengkuas at the market, I always end up having a growing one in the kitchen.

It is quite easy to grow, you just soak the rhizome in water and after a few days you can see new eyes coming out and if you really let it soak further you can actually see new roots and leaves starting to grow.

That’s why I have such a big lengkuas plant at the yard in front of my house. It’s all because of the soaking I did to save the bought galangal rhizome, haha!