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Atriplex hastata - L.

Hastate Orach

Author	L.	Botanical references	17
Family	Chenopodiaceae	Genus	Atriplex
Synonyms	Atriplex deltoidea - Bab.
Known Hazards	No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.
Range	Most of Europe, including Britain, south from Scandanavia to N. Africa, east to Asia.
Habitat	Waste or disturbed ground, often near the sea, on sand, shingle and mud above the high-tide mark[17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.75m.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Seed.

Leaves - cooked[5, 74, 177]. Used as a spinach substitute, they have a fairly bland flavour and are often mixed with stronger tasting leaves[9, 183]. Seed - cooked[9, 177]. Ground into a powder and used to thicken soups etc or added to wheat flour and used in making bread. Very fiddly to harvest because the seed is quite small.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a position in full sun in any well-drained but not too fertile soil.[200] Tolerates saline and very alkaline soils[200]. A polymorphic species[17]. This species is a poor companion for potatoes, inhibiting their growth when growing close to them[18].

Propagation

Seed - sow April/May in situ[134]. Germination is usually rapid.

Links

References

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[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.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[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.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[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.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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