Chenopodium capitatum
| Chenopodium capitatum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Chenopodium capitatum (common name: strawberry blite)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in situ. Most of the seed usually germinates within a few days of sowing.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade[1][2]. It prefers a moderately fertile soil[2].
A very ornamental plant[3], strawberry blite has at times been cultivated for its edible leaves[4].
Range: Europe. A rare casual in Britain[5].
Habitat: Rubbish tips etc in Britain[5].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[6][7]. Used like spinach[8], they are a good source of vitamins C and A[9]. The young leaves are best[10][11][12]. Poor quality[3]. The raw leaves have been used in salad mixtures[9], but should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.
Fruit - raw or cooked[8][6][11]. An insipid but sweet flavour[10], they can be added to salads[12]. The fruit is about 12mm in diameter[2].
A red food colouring can be obtained from the fruit[3][13][11][12].
Seed - cooked. It can be ground into a meal and mixed with cereal flours in making bread etc[14][11]. The seed is small and fiddly, it should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins.
Medicinal: The plant has been used as a lotion for treating black eyes and head bruises[9].
The juice of the seeds and an infusion of the plant has been used to treat lung congestion[9].
Usage: Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[15].
A red dye is obtained from the fruit, it is used in cosmetics and as a paint[16][9].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The leaves and seeds of all members of this genus are more or less edible. However, many of the species in this genus contain saponins, though usually in quantities too small to do any harm. Although toxic, saponins are poorly absorbed by the body and mos
Also Known As: Blitum capitatum.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vilmorin-Andrieux. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press.
- ↑ Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press, 1975.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Turner, Nancy. Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. British Columbia Provincial Museum, 1979.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.