For a desert rat, my former disdain for succulents (apart from purslane) was hard to fathom. I say former disdain because all of a sudden, I adore succulents and am collecting lots of them, mostly in the form of cuttings given to me by people who appreciate that there is nothing like a convert.
This all came about as a result of my cousin's generous gift of )yard trimmings. She has a veritable forest of elephant bush trees, most of which she grew from cuttings. I plan to do the same.
So far I have three varieties of Elephant Bush and each one has its own personality. I like the Mammoth variety best for tea. I have been boiling a few leaves in water for 3 minutes and then letting them steep. I have seen Elephant Bush tea offered for sale online under the name Spekboom tea. I had bought a pot of the Mammoth Elephant Bush at Lowe's Hardware and subsequently learned that its botanical name is Portulacaria Afra Macrophylla.
After reading that the little green leaves of Portulacaria Afra (Green) shown at the bottom of this collage are good in salad I tasted one and it was actually pretty awful! But I cooked a few and found them quite good. Having seen a recipe for SpekBoom Muffins, I tried putting a few of the cooked leaves in my cornbread and was happy with the result. It is said that this plant has a nicer flavor if the leaves are picked in the late afternoon. I have found that to be true of edible chrysanthemum leaves, but
Imagine my surprise, however, when I gingerly tasted a leaf from the Rainbow variety (Portulacaria Afra Variegata) and found it to be delicious.