Chenopodium foliosum
| Chenopodium foliosum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Chenopodium foliosum
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].
Formerly cultivated for its edible leaves[3].
This species is closely related to C. capitatum[2].
Range: S. Europe to N. Africa and Asia.
Habitat: Waste places and waysides[4]. Slopes, forest margins and valleys in northern Tibet[5].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked and used like spinach[3][6][7]. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.
Seed - ground into a powder and cooked. It can be added to cereal flours and used in making bread. Very small and fiddly. Soak the seed for 12 hours and then thoroughly rinse it in order to wash off any saponins before grinding it[K].
Fruit - raw. Fairly insipid, though quite attractive to look at[K]. The fruit is about 12mm in diameter[2].
Usage: Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[8].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid 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: C. blitum. Hook.f.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.