Date:
Fragrant Pakalana Vine - a delicious meal?
Q: I visited Thailand recently, and enjoyed a wonderful stir fry made with Cowslip flowers. I would love to grow it myself. I need this vine in my life! Do you have them in your inventory and if so, will I be able to grow it successfully here in SW Florida?
A: By Onika Amell, tropical flower specialist.
The extremely fragrant Telosoma cordata has many names: Cowslip
Creeper, Pakalana vine, Tonkin Jasmine, Dok Kajon, or Chinese violet. It is a very
sought after rare tropical fragrant ornamental, but not everyone knows that
this flower makes a delicious meal!
The flowers have a lovely lemon-like fragrance and can be found in
South East Asian food markets. It is typically fried with eggs to make omelets or
stir-fried with tofu or pork and beef. Young leaves & flower buds can also
be eaten fresh (in a salad) or battered & fried. Not only are the flowers
delicious, but they are chock and block full of carbohydrates, proteins and
vitamins A and C.
An old Chinese tale tells the story of the mystic, aromatic powers of
the Pakalana vine...
