Chenopodium foliosum
an annual member of the Chenopodium genus in the family Chenopodiaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Chenopodiaceae
- Genus
- Chenopodium
- Life cycle
- annual
- Height
- 0.6 m
- Fertility
- Wind
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- 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.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
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 most pass straight through without any problem. They are also broken down to a large extent in the cooking process. Saponins are found in many foods, such as some beans. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[K]. The plants also contain some oxalic acid, which in large quantities can lock up some of the nutrients in the food. However, even considering this, they are very nutritious vegetables in reasonable quantities. Cooking the plants will reduce their content of oxalic acid. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition[6].
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Leaves - cooked and used like spinach[8][9][4]. 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[5].
- Plant part
- Fruit
- Plant part
- Leaves
- Plant part
- Seed
Material uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[3].
- Product or use
- Dye
Environment
- Range
- S. Europe to N. Africa and Asia.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 5+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - sow spring in situ. Most of the seed usually germinates within a few days of sowing.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade[1][5]. It prefers a moderately fertile soil[5]. Formerly cultivated for its edible leaves[8]. This species is closely related to C. capitatum[5].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969-00-00 ISBN 0192176218
Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
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
Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202
Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00