Herbal and Wellness
Welpenela Powder (Balloon Vine Leaf)
The balloon vine leaf, dried and milled, a quiet regular in Sri Lankan herbal cooking.
- Milled from balloon vine leaf, a common village herb
- Milder than gotu kola, with very little bitterness
- Shade-dried to hold the green
- Used in kenda porridges and herbal drinks
- Pure leaf, nothing added to bulk it out
Available to pre-orderSKU: CC-WEL-PWD
Size: 100g
- Carefully packed and shipped to your door
- 14-day replacement on damaged items
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Description
Welpenela (Cardiospermum halicacabum), the balloon vine that scrambles over fences and puts out papery green seed pods like small lanterns. The leaves are dried and milled into a soft green powder used in kenda porridges and herbal drinks across the island.
You will have walked past this plant a hundred times without noticing it. Welpenela climbs through hedges with thin tendrils and hangs its seed pods like little paper balloons, which is exactly how it got its English name.
The leaves are the part that goes into the kitchen. Shredded fresh into a mallum, or dried and milled the way we sell it here, they carry a mild green taste with far less bitterness than gotu kola, which makes welpenela the easier one to start with if bitter greens are not your thing.
It has a long history in Sri Lankan home remedies, particularly for aching joints and stiff shoulders. That is the tradition, and we will report it as tradition rather than dress it up as a claim.
How to Use
- Simmer into a kenda porridge with coconut milk
- Steep a teaspoon in hot water as a mild herbal drink
- Blend with lime and honey over ice
- Mix into a green powder blend with gotu kola
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Frequently Asked
Balloon vine, sometimes called love in a puff, after the papery seed pods it hangs from the hedge. The botanical name is Cardiospermum halicacabum.
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