Water Spinach

Name: Water Spinach

Other Names: kangkung (Indonesian Malay), swamp cabbage, water convolvulus, water morning glory, kangkong (Tagalog), tangkong (Cebuano), kang kung (Sinhalese), trawkoon ( Khmer), pak boong (Thai), rau muống (Vietnamese), kongxincai (Chinese 空心菜 pinyin kōngxīncài literally hollow heart vegetable), home sum choy ( Hakka), ong choy or tung choi (Cantonese pronunciation of 蕹菜, ngônkcôi pinyin wéngcài)

Description: Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable. Its precise natural distribution is unknown due to extensive cultivation, with the species found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Common names include swamp cabbage, water convolvulus, water morning-glory, kangkung (Indonesian, Malay), kangkong (Tagalog), tangkong (Cebuano), kang kung (Sinhalese), trawkoon ( Khmer), pak boong (Thai), rau muống (Vietnamese), kongxincai (Chinese: 空心菜; pinyin: kōngxīncài; literally "hollow heart vegetable"), home sum choy ( Hakka), and ong choy or tung choi (Cantonese pronunciation of 蕹菜, ngônkcôi; pinyin: wéngcài).

Water spinach grows in water or on moist soil. Its stems are 2-3 m or more long, hollow, allowing them to float, and these root at the nodes. The leaves vary from sagittate (typical) to lanceolate, 5-15 cm long and 2-8 cm broad. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, 3-5 cm diameter, usually white in colour.