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Chenopodium vulvaria
| Common name: |
Stinking Goosefoot |
Family: |
Chenopodiaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17 |
| Synonyms: |
Chenopodium olidum (Curt.) |
| 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, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and S.W. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Landward edges of salt marshes and shingle beaches, inland in waste areas[17]. |
| 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. dacoticum[B]
C. glabrescens[B,P]
C. watsonii[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Arrach [H], Fena Kokulu Kazayagi [E], Goat's Arrach [H], Netchweed [H], Orache [H], Stinkende Ganzenvoet [D], Stinking Arrach [H], Stinking Goosefoot [H,P,L,B], Stinking Motherwort [H], Vulvaria [E], Watson's Goosefoot [P,B], Wild Arrach [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
varia = variegated;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Spain; Turkey
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 0.3m. It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented 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 and can grow in saline soil.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Leaves; Seed.
Leaves and flower buds - cooked and used like spinach. The raw leaves
should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.
Although edible, the smell of the leaves would discourage most people from
using this plant[K].
Seed - cooked. Ground into a powder, 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
Antispasmodic; Emmenagogue; Women's complaints.
The whole plant is antispasmodic and emmenagogue[4]. An infusion of the
dried leaves is used in the treatment of hysteria and nervous troubles
connected with women's ailments[4].
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].
The plant contains trimethylamine, and when touched it gives off the
nauseous odour of stale salt fish[4, 17].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in situ. Most of the seed usually germinates within a
few days of sowing.
Scent
-
Leaves: Crushed
- The leaves smell like decaying fish.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
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.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Chenopodium olidum (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
References for Chenopodium watsonii (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]).
[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.
[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.
[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.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
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+vulvaria
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Chenopodium+vulvaria
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