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Atriplex patula
| Common name: |
Spreading Orach |
Family: |
Chenopodiaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Most reports say that no member of this genus contains any toxins and that all have more or less edible leaves. However, one report says that if very large quantities are eaten they can cause photosensitivity[70]. If plants are grown with artificial fertilizers they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves. |
| Range: |
Most f Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Waste and arable land near the coast[9], it is usually found on clays and heavy ground[4]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 1 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| A. gmelinii[B,C,CAL,HORTIPLEX,P]
A. gmelinii var. zosterifolia[B,P]
A. patula ssp. obtusa[B,P]
A. patula var. bracteata[B]
A. patula var. bracteata auct. non[P]
A. patula var. japonica[B,P]
A. patula var. obtusa[B,P]
A. patula var. zosterifolia[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Arroche Des Champs [E], Common Orache [L,H], Gemeine Melde [E], Gmelin's Saltbush [P,B], Halberd-leaf Orache [B], Spear Saltbush [P], Spreading Orach [L], Spreading Orache [H], Uitstaande Melde [D,E], Wild Arrach [H], Wild Orache [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
patula = spreading
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
France
Germany Netherlands
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.75m. . It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. 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 and insects.
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
1/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay 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 moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Leaves
Seed.
Young leaves - raw or cooked as a spinach substitute[5, 85, 95, 153,
183]. A fairly bland flavour, a few leaves of stronger-flavoured plants can
be added to enhance the taste[9].
Seed - ground and mixed with cornmeal or used to thicken soups etc[183].
Small and very fiddly to harvest and use[9].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Laxative.
The seeds, harvested when just ripe, are said to be as efficacious as
ipecacuanha as a laxative[4].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Succeeds in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil[200].
Prefers a rich soil. Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils[200].
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.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos)
from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [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.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Atriplex gmelinii (a possible synonym).
References for the family Chenopodiaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[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.
[70] Bolton. E. Lichens for Vegetable Dyeing. Studio Vista 1972 ISBN 0-289-70288-7
A small but interesting book for the casual reader and the enthusiast.
[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.
[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.
[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.
[153] Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.
[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
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+patula
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Atriplex+patula
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