The bitter leaf, botanical name, Vernonia amygdalina is one very popular plant in Nigeria. It is famous for its innumerable health benefits and usually the go-to herb in most homes. It's also a major cooking ingredient used in soup dishes. It is used in egusi soup and bitter leaf soup either freshly washed or dried.
When a child has fever, malaria or a runny stomach, loss of appetite or constipation, the bitter leaf is first washed to remove traces of dirt and then it is scrubbed between the palms to get the bitter juice for drinking. A few glasses more and one is back to normal health.
The older ones mostly use it to 'wash' their system. It is believed to be a good cleanser for the kidneys and liver.
This plant like most, can thrive anywhere only needing good sunlight. You'd find it in most home gardens or in the bushes. It's a very good commodity so we often have trespassers cutting (stealing) ours by the fence.
We recently woke up one morning to find all of it cut off which was quite painful because we cook our soups with bitter leaf most times.
This is the new growth, hopefully it doesn't get stolen. I'm a sweet tooth so I don't fancy bitter leaf juice unlike my parents. I prefer the less bitter thoroughly scrubbed leaves in my meals. I'm not sure all of these health benefits are scientifically proven but I've sure seen more than enough testimonials.
Feel free to use these images I took of my small bitter leaf garden.