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Atriplex carnosa

Common name:		Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Author:	A.Nels.	Botanical references:	60
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	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.
Range:	Western N. America
Habitat:	By the coast and inland, especially on saline or alkaline soils[60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	carnosa = fleshy;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.9m. . The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Seed.

Leaves - cooked and used as a spinach[85].
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[161, 177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

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[60]. 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[200]. Most species in this genus tolerate saline and very alkaline soils[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow April/May in situ. Germination is usually rapid.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Chenopodiaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Atriplex+carnosa
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Atriplex+carnosa

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.