Chenopodium nuttalliae
| Chenopodium nuttalliae | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Chenopodium nuttalliae (common name: huauzontle)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in situ. Germination is normally very rapid, but be careful not to weed out the seedlings because they look rather like the garden weed fat hen (C. album).
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade[1][2]. It prefers a moderately fertile soil[2].
Huauzontle was formerly commonly cultivated in Mexico for its edible seed and flowering shoots[3][4]. It is potentially a very productive crop[3]. Although it is said to require a fairly long growing season in order to crop well, plants grown in Cornwall in the cool wet summer of 1992 did very well[K]. Even with all the rain at the end of the summer a reasonable crop was harvested in September[K].
This species is closely related to quinoa, C. quinoa, and both might have originated from the same wild species[4]. Whilst that species has been widely cultivated as a seed crop, though, this species was grown more for its edible flowering stem[4]. Some modern works now see this species as no more than a sub-species of C. berlandieri.
Range: Southern N. America - Mexico.
Edibility: Leaves - cooked. A mild flavoured spinach substitute[5]. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.
Flower clusters - cooked[4]. Used like broccoli, they are considered a gourmet food[5].
Seed - cooked[6][7][3][8]. A mild flavour, it can be used as a staple food[K]. It can be used in all the ways that rice is used, either as a sweet or as a savoury dish. The seed should be soaked in water overnight and then thoroughly rinsed to wash off the bitter tasting saponins. Very nutritious and sustaining. The seed is fairly small but is easy to harvest.
Usage: Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[9].
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
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References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Brouk, Bohuslav. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, 1975.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Vegetables. Macmillan Reference Books, 1995.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.