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Chenopodium schraderianum
| Common name: |
|
Family: |
Chenopodiaceae |
| Author: |
Roem.&Schult. |
Botanical references: |
50, 74, 266 |
| Synonyms: |
Chenopodium foetidum (Schrad.) |
| 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: |
N. Africa to Europe - Russia. |
| Habitat: |
Weed infested places[74]. Forest margins, meadows, riversides, around houses, sometimes in fields in northern China[266]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 1 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| C. schraderanum[HORTIPLEX]
Teloxys schraderiana[P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Schrader's Goosefoot [P], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Lesotho
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 1.2m. . 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 2/5 for edibility and
1/5 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
Leaves; Seed.
Leaves - raw or cooked as a spinach. The raw leaves should only be
eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.
Seed - ground into a powder and used with cereal flours to make bread, cakes
etc. Small and fiddly. The seed should be soaked in water overnight and
thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins.
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antiasthmatic.
Antiasthmatic. Also used in the treatment of migraine and catarrhal
conditions[74].
Other Uses
Dye; Repellent.
The whole plant repels moths[74].
Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[168].
Cultivation details
We have very little information on this species and do not know how
well it will grow in Britain, but it should succeed as a spring sown annual.
It is closely related to C. botrys[50]. The following notes are based on the
general needs of the genus.
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
- [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 Chenopodium foetidum (a possible synonym).
References for Chenopodium schraderanum (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.
[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]).
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.
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?Chenopodium+schraderianum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Chenopodium+schraderianum
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