The Sweet Prayer, aka Katemfe (or Katempfe) or ego, is a Western African plant that is 1500 times sweeter than sugar. But I give up; after looking high and low on the Internet for months, I can't find a supplier of the seeds or plant anywhere. The scientific name is Thaumatococcus daniellii. Apparently some company has synthesized the sweet ingredient thaumatin, but it does not seem to have been commercialized much. For the conspiracy minded, maybe aspartame interests are paying someone off.
In Australia there is an invasive plant they call sweet prayer, but there is some kind of mistake, because they say it is Thaumastochloa danielii which does not show up anywhere on plant indices. It is the correct family Marantaceae, but it appears that the genus is wrong. So if someone in Australia wants to check this out, I would like to have some seeds from this "weed" if it really is sweet prayer.
7 comments:
I live in Africa and have never heard of the plant...I must do some research.
Thanks for posting.
I can not help you with your quest for the elusive sweet prayer, but there is an herb that the extract is suppose to be 300 times sweeter than sugar without the bad effects.
Species: Stevia Rebaudiane
Common Name: Sweet Leaf
More information/links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia
and
http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/health/Herb/Stevia.htm
Funny you say that. I get what you feel. The very reason I found your site was because I was looking for the exact same thing. If anyone has some, people do post here. I'd definitely like some seeds also.
I bought this plant last month from a local nursery in Singapore and didn't bother with it's name until last weekend. After intensive search from the web, I think I may have found the match as the pictures resemble its characteristic. I'm not sure if the seeds may be available for purchase.
I am an avid plant collector. I am so sad that you are ready to give up. Please don't you'll find it some day. I too have been seeking somethings for years but haven't found their suppliers, But I refuse to give up. If you have any requirements from Northern India please let me know. If you have some fruiting plants seeds that can be grown in hot sunny climate with heavy rainfalls near end of summers and dry winters then please let me know, my email id is vsinghy@rediffmail.com
Ok, I dont want to give you some false hope but I think i know where you can find some..But I am not sure you can get the fruit (the best part) by cultivation. I am quite sure about the seed though....
Please let me know where can i buy plant or seeds, email: boris.stanglo@gmail.com, thank you, best regards, boris
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