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Chenopodium nuttalliae
| Common name: |
Huauzontle |
Family: |
Chenopodiaceae |
| Author: |
Saff. |
Botanical references: |
|
| Synonyms: |
Chenopodium berlandieri nuttalliae ((Saff.)H.D.Wilson.& Heiser.) |
| Known Hazards: |
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[238]. |
| Range: |
Southern N. America - Mexico. |
| Habitat: |
Not known |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
4 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 0 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| C. berlandieri ssp. nuttalliae[P]
C. berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Nuttall's Goosefoot [P], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.6m. . It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.
We rate it 4/5 for edibility and
0/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Flowers
Leaves Seed.
Leaves - cooked. A mild flavoured spinach substitute[183]. The raw
leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on
toxicity.
Flower clusters - cooked[264]. Used like broccoli, they are considered a
gourmet food[183].
Seed - cooked[61, 105, 142, 177]. 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.
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
None known
Other Uses
Dye.
Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[168].
Cultivation details
An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade[1,
200]. It prefers a moderately fertile soil[200].
Huauzontle was formerly commonly cultivated in Mexico for its edible seed
and flowering shoots[142, 264]. It is potentially a very productive
crop[142]. Although it is said to require a fairly long growing season in
order to crop well, plants grown in &ndndndnd 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[264]. Whilst that species has been
widely cultivated as a seed crop, though, this species was grown more for its
edible flowering stem[264]. Some modern works now see this species as no more
than a sub-species of C. berlandieri.
Propagation
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).
Cultivars
- ''
- No entries have been made for this species as yet.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
References for Chenopodium berlandieri ssp. nuttalliae (a possible synonym).
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
References for Chenopodium berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae (a possible synonym).
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
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.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[142] Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press 1975 ISBN 0-12-136450-x
Readable but not very comprehensive.
[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.
[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.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[264] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
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Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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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?Chenopodium+nuttalliae
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