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Chrysanthemum coronarium spatiosum

Common name:	Chop-Suey Greens	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.H.Bailey.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. Europe.
Habitat:	Cultivated ground and waste places[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. coronarium var. spatiosum[G,P] C. spatiosum[G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Crowndaisy [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	corona = crown coronarium = for wreathes or garlands
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 1.2m. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, beetles and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves.

Young shoots and stems - raw or cooked[34, 46, 61, 105, 116]. Strongly aromatic[183, 200], they are used as a flavouring or as a vegetable[206]. Cooked leaves become bitter if overcooked at a high temperature[206]. Young leaves are excellent in salads[206]. The leaves quickly wilt once they have been picked so it is best to harvest them as required[206]. They contain about 1.85% protein, 0.43% fat, 2.57% carbohydrate, 0.98% ash[179]. They are rich in vitamin B1, contain a moderate content of vitamin C and a little vitamin A[179].
Flowers - raw[116]. Blanched briefly and added to salads[183]. The centre of the flower is bitter so only the petals are normally used[206]. A fragrant pickle known as 'kikumi' is made from the petals in Japan[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Aromatic Bitter Expectorant Purgative Stomachic VD.

The leaves are expectorant and stomachic[218]. In conjunction with black pepper it is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea[240].
The flowers are aromatic, bitter and stomachic[240]. They are used as a substitute for camomile (Chamaemelum nobile)[240].
The bark is purgative, it is used in the treatment of syphilis[240].

Other Uses

Repellent.

Possibly a good companion plant, protecting neighbouring plants from caterpillars etc[Gardener's World, 28/04/89]. There is a report that secretions from the roots can be effective in controlling nematodes in the soil, but this has not been substantiated[206].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1], but it prefers a well-drained fertile soil in full sun[200, 206]. It will tolerate light shade in the summer[206]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.2 to 7.5.
Plants do not grow well at temperatures above 25° c, tending to become bitter in hot weather[206]. Plants withstand light frosts[206].
Chop suey greens are commonly cultivated as a vegetable in the Orient and are becoming better known in the West[200]. There are many named varieties[183]. It takes 4 - 5 weeks from sowing the seed to the first harvest when plants are grown on the cut and come again principle[206].
Plants often self-sow when they are well-sited and the soil is disturbed by hoeing etc[K].

Propagation

Seed - surface-sow in spring to early autumn in situ. The seed usually germinates within 10 - 18 days at 15° c[206]. Successional sowings can be made at intervals of a few weeks in order to ensure a constant supply of young plants[206]. Autumn sowings succeed in mild areas[164]. An autumn sowing under cover will often supply leaves all winter[206].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

References for Chrysanthemum coronarium var. spatiosum (a possible synonym).

[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.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[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]).

[34] Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press 1975
Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[116] Brooklyn Botanic Garden Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1986
A small booklet packed with information.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[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.

[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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