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Atriplex hastata

Atriplex hastata: Flowers
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Hastate Orach	Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Atriplex deltoidea (Bab.)
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:	Most of Europe, including Britain, south from Scandanavia to N. Africa, east to Asia.
Habitat:	Waste or disturbed ground, often near the sea, on sand, shingle and mud above the high-tide mark[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. calotheca[G] A. hastata sensu[P] A. latifolia[B,P] A. patula ssp. hastata[B] A. patula subsp. hastata[G] A. patula var. hastata[B,G] A. patula var. hastata auct. non[P] A. patula var. salina[G] A. patula var. triangularis[B,G,P] A. prostrata[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,DUTCH,G,HPIC,L,P] A. prostrata var. triangularis[B] A. triangularis[B,C,G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Halberd-leaved Arrach [H], Halberd-leaved Wild Orach [H], Hastate Orache [L,B], Spear-leaved Orach [H], Spear-leaved Orache [H], Spiesmelde [D], Triangle Orache [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	hastata = spear shaped
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.75m. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September. 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 3/5 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. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves Seed.

Leaves - cooked[5, 74, 177]. Used as a spinach substitute, they have a fairly bland flavour and are often mixed with stronger tasting leaves[9, 183].
Seed - cooked[9, 177]. Ground into a powder and used to thicken soups etc or added to wheat flour and used in making bread. Very fiddly to harvest because the seed is quite small.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a position in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil.[200] Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils[200].
A polymorphic species[17].
This species is a poor companion for potatoes, inhibiting their growth when growing close to them[18].

Propagation

Seed - sow April/May in situ[134]. 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

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Atriplex calotheca (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Atriplex prostrata (a possible synonym).

[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for atriplex prostrata (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

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

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[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.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[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
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