Atriplex carnosa
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Chenopodiaceae
- Genus
- Atriplex
- Life cycle
- annual
- Height
- 0.9 m
- Fertility
- Wind
- Flower type
- monoecious
- Pollinators
- Wind
Uses
Toxicity
Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.
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.
Edible uses
Leaves - cooked and used as a spinach[5]. Seed - cooked. It can be ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups etc, or can be mixed with cereal flours to enrich the protein content when making bread, cakes, biscuits etc[1][2].
- Plant part
- Leaves
- Plant part
- Seed
Environment
- Range
- Western N. America
- Habitat
- By the coast and inland, especially on saline or alkaline soils[4].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerances
- drought
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- tolerant
- Salinity
- tolerant
Propagation
Seed - sow April/May in situ. Germination is usually rapid.
Cultivation
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though it should be possible to grow it as a spring-sown annual. It might be no more than a synonym for A. patula[4]. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Succeeds in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil[3]. Most species in this genus tolerate saline and very alkaline soils[3].
References
Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955-00-00
Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967-00-00 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9