Atriplex confertifolia
| Atriplex confertifolia | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 6' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Atriplex confertifolia (common name: shadscale)
Propagation: Seed - sow April/May in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. Germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 13°c[1]. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring[K].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November/December in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer[K].
Cultivation: Requires a light or medium well-drained but not too fertile soil in a sunny position[2][3]. Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils[3]. Succeeds in a hot dry position.
Plants resent root disturbance when they are large[1].
Plants are apt to succumb to winter wet when grown on heavy or rich soils.
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: Western N. America
Habitat: Alkaline slopes and flats below 2000 metres. in California[4].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[5][6] and used as greens[7][8]. The water in which the leaves is cooked is used in making corn pudding[9][10].
Seed - used in piñole or ground into a meal and used as a thickener in making bread or mixed with flour in making bread[11][105. 161][10].
Medicinal: The plant has been burnt and the smoke inhaled as a treatment for epilepsy[8].
The boiled leaves have been used as a liniment for sore muscles and aches[8].
A poultice of the mashed leaves have been applied to the chest and a decoction of the leaves drunk to treat colds[8].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Dioecious
Known Hazards: No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.
Also Known As: A. jonesii. Obione confertifolia.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Whiting, Alfred. Ethnobotany of the Hopi. North Arizona Society of Science and Art, 1939.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.