Practical
Plants

Monolepis nuttalliana

Poverty Weed

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

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
0.3 m
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

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

Leaves - cooked until tender[5]. A pleasant mild flavour[9][2], they are used as greens[5]. Root - cooked[7][8][1][3][5]. Small but with an acceptable flavour when young, the older ones are rather tough[9]. Seed. Very small and fiddly, it is used as a piñole[7][8][9][1][3]. The seed can also be dried, ground into a powder then mixed with water and eaten as a mush[5].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Root
Plant part
Seed

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

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

A poultice of moist leaves has been applied to skin abrasions[5].

Product or use
Poultice

Environment

Range
Western N. America - Manitoba to California, Texas and New Mexico.
Habitat
Waste places, lawn edges, gardens etc in dry, saline and alkaline soils[6][9][4].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerances
drought
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
tolerant
Salinity
tolerant

Propagation

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

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in late spring in situ.

Cultivation

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

We have almost no 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 half-hardy annual in this country. It is likely to require a well-drained soil in a sunny position.

References

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

    ↩1↩2

  2. Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975-00-00 ISBN 0-87857-090-x

    ↩

  3. Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.

    ↩1↩2

  4. Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5

    ↩

  5. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  6. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

  7. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩1↩2

  9. Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967-00-00 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

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