Practical
Plants

Chenopodium nuttalliae

Huauzontle

an annual member of the Chenopodium genus in the family Chenopodiaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

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[8].

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - cooked. A mild flavoured spinach substitute[6]. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Flower clusters - cooked[9]. Used like broccoli, they are considered a gourmet food[6]. Seed - cooked[10][2][3][5]. 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.

Plant part
Flowers
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[4].

Product or use
Dye

Environment

Range
Southern N. America - Mexico.
Habitat
Not known
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
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. 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

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade[1][7]. It prefers a moderately fertile soil[7]. Huauzontle was formerly commonly cultivated in Mexico for its edible seed and flowering shoots[3][9]. 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[9]. Whilst that species has been widely cultivated as a seed crop, though, this species was grown more for its edible flowering stem[9]. Some modern works now see this species as no more than a sub-species of C. berlandieri.

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

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  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

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  3. Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press 1975-00-00 ISBN 0-12-136450-x

    ↩1↩2↩3

  4. Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-02-544950-8

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  5. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

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  6. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2

  7. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  8. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

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  9. Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0 333 62640 0

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  10. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

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