GREEN PROMISE

Although a weed, silver cockscomb is high in nutrients and shows potential for use as a leafy vegetable

- RP HARISHA

SILVER cockscomb is a beautiful but troublesome weed. If left unchecked, it can spread quickly and suppress the growth of other crops, affecting their yield. It also attracts insects, caterpillars, worms and moths that can harm crops. In Karnataka's Chamarajanagara district, where silver cockscomb is referred to as anne soppu, farmers of the Soliga tribe say controlling the weed can cost up to 12,000 per acre (0.4 hectare) per year. Yet they do not consider silver cockscomb a weed. For the Soligas, known for their traditional knowledge of ecology, silver cockscomb is a nutritious leafy green vegetable that grows well even on fallow land and in drought-like conditions.

Also known as lagos spinach, the weed belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, which includes economically important plants like spinach (Spinacia oleracea), beetroot and quinoa. The plant is known as Celosia argentea in scientific lexicon, kurdu in Marathi and pannai keerai in Tamil.