The Consumption of edible leaves by Afro-Descendants in French Guiana and Suriname: an overview of a constantly evolving ethno-culinary practice

This paper explores the culinary and cultural significance of cooked leafy vegetables among Afro-descendant communities in French Guiana and Suriname, including French Guianese and Surinamese Creoles, Maroons, and Haitian migrants. While leafy greens play a major dietary role across sub-Saharan Africa, their consumption in the Americas remains understudied. This ethnobotanical study of edible leafy plants is based on surveys of local markets, gardens and residents. Drawing on 26 informal interviews conducted in four local languages (French, French Guianese Creole, Haitian Creole, and Nengee Tongo), we describe 36 species of edible leaves from 20 plant families consumed in the region. Our findings show that although the practice of eating leafy greens is widely shared, the species selected, their names, and their perceived properties vary noticeably across cultural groups. Some plants are eaten exclusively by Maroons (e.g., Cestrum latifolium, Capsicum spp.), others by Haitians (e.g., Corchorus olitorius, Rivina humilis), and some have fallen into disuse among younger generations. These differences are shaped by ecological availability, cultural memory, food-medicine beliefs, and interethnic influences. We suggest that the term callaloo (referring to both dishes and leafy vegetables), which circulates in multiple linguistic and culinary forms throughout the African diaspora, can serve as a metaphor for the interculturalization of foodways. More than ingredients, these leafy vegetables act as dynamic cultural markers—symbols of resilience, transmission, and transformation. In a context of rapid globalization, where unseen foods risk sinking further into obscurity, these plant-based traditions highlight both the adaptability and fragility of Afro-descendant culinary heritage in the Guiana Shield.