Chipilín
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| Crotalaria longirostrata |
Chipilín (or chepil or chepilin), Latin name Crotalaria longirostrata, also known as the "longbeak rattlebox," is a perennial legume native to Central America. Its leaves are a common leafy vegetable in local cuisines of Central America and southern Mexico (including Chiapas and Oaxaca), and they are high in iron, calcium, and beta carotene. The plant is also found on the island of Maui in Hawai'i, but is not native to that region.
The leaves of the plant can be boiled and served green, dried and used as an herb, or added to tamale doughs for color and flavor.
When the pods of the plant dry, they split open, spreading the seeds over a wide area. That, combined with the fact that the plant is not eaten by animals, has given chipilín the reputation of an invasive plant. In the continental United States, chipilín is characterized as a noxious weed, perhaps because other members of the Crotalaria genus are toxic to cattle. The importation of chipilín seeds or plants is banned in Australia.
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