Familiarity 3.3 - Phytoremediating Plants

Allamanda cathartica

Yellow Bell – A tropical ornamental shrub with glossy leaves and large bright yellow trumpet-shaped flowers

Brassica juncea

Mustard Greens – A leafy vegetable cultivated for its edible peppery leaves and seeds

Brassica napus

Turnip – A cultivated crop grown for its edible roots, leaves, and oil-rich seeds in certain varieties

Helianthus annuus

Sunflower – A tall annual plant producing large flower heads that follow sunlight during development

Asparagus officinalis

Asparagus – A perennial vegetable cultivated for its young edible shoots

Brassica oleracea var. italica

Broccoli – A cool-season vegetable grown for its edible green flower heads and thick stalks

Eichhornia crassipes

Water Hyacinth – A free-floating aquatic plant with inflated leaf stalks and lavender flowers, known for its rapid growth

Nelumbo nucifera

Sacred Lotus – An aquatic plant with large floating leaves and showy flowers, producing edible seeds and rhizomes

Cyperus alternifolius

Umbrella Papyrus – A grass-like aquatic plant with umbrella-shaped leaf arrangements commonly used as an ornamental plant

Ipomoea aquatica

Kangkong – A semi-aquatic leafy vegetable with hollow stems commonly grown in wetlands and waterways

Typha angustifolia

Cattail – A wetland plant with narrow leaves and distinctive brown cylindrical flower spikes

Arachis pintoi

Peanut Plant – A low-growing perennial legume used as a groundcover and valued for nitrogen fixation

Medicago sativa

Alfalfa – A perennial legume cultivated as a high-protein forage crop and soil-improving plant

Paspalum conjugatum

Carabao Grass – A creeping perennial grass commonly used as pasture and groundcover in tropical regions

Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Caballero – A flowering shrub with feathery leaves and clusters of red, orange, or yellow blossoms

Canna indica

Bandera Española – A rhizomatous ornamental plant with broad leaves and brightly colored flowers

Catharanthus roseus

Chichirica – A flowering herb producing pink, purple, or white flowers and valued for medicinal compounds

Codiaeum variegatum

San Francisco – An ornamental shrub prized for its brightly colored and variegated foliage

Coleus scutellarioides

Mayana – A colorful ornamental plant with highly variable leaf patterns and vivid foliage

Colocasia esculenta

Gabi – A tropical root crop with large heart-shaped leaves cultivated for its edible corms and leaves

Euphorbia tithymaloides

Zigzag Plant / Devil's Backbone – A succulent shrub with distinctive zigzag stems and ornamental foliage

Excoecaria cochinchinensis

Picara – A tropical ornamental shrub with dark green leaves and striking red undersides

Nerium oleander

Adelfa – An evergreen flowering shrub with showy blooms that is highly toxic in all parts

Pandanus dubius

Bakong / Screw Pine – A coastal plant with spirally arranged leaves and aerial roots adapted to sandy shorelines

Solanum lycopersicum

Tomato – An annual fruit-bearing plant widely cultivated for its edible fleshy berries

Bambusoideae

Bamboo – A subfamily of fast-growing woody grasses characterized by hollow jointed culms

Aleurites moluccanus

Lumbang – A large tropical tree producing oil-rich nuts traditionally used for illumination and woodcraft

Casuarina equisetifolia

Agoho – A fast-growing coastal tree with needle-like branchlets commonly planted as a windbreak

Gliricidia sepium

Madre de Cacao – A nitrogen-fixing tree widely used as living fence posts, shade, and green manure

Gmelina arborea

Yemane / White Teak – A fast-growing timber tree valued for lightweight wood used in construction and furniture

Leucaena leucocephala

Ipil-ipil – A fast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree used for forage, firewood, and soil improvement

Pterocarpus indicus

Narra – The national tree of the Philippines, valued for its durable reddish hardwood and ornamental canopy

Spathodea campanulata

African Tulip Tree – A fast-growing tropical tree producing large orange-red tulip-shaped flowers and a broad cro