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Chenopodium opulifolium
| Common name: |
|
Family: |
Chenopodiaceae |
| Author: |
Schrad. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| 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: |
Europe to Asia. An introduced casual in Britain[17]. |
| Habitat: |
A not infrequent alien in waste places, mainly in S. England[17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 0 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| C. album var. viride[B,P]
C. suecicum[B]
C. suecicum auct. non[P]
C. viride[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Seaport Goosefoot [B,P], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.75m. . It is in flower from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 2/5 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 can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Leaves
Seed.
Leaves - raw or cooked as a spinach[177]. The raw leaves should only be
eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.
Seed - cooked. Ground into a powder and mixed with wheat or other cereals
and used in making bread etc. The seed is small and fiddly, it should be
soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to
remove any saponins.
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].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in situ. Most of the seed usually germinates within a
few days of sowing.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
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]).
[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.
[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.
[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.
Readers Comments
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Bibliography
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?Chenopodium+opulifolium
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Chenopodium+opulifolium
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