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Chenopodium bonus-henricus - L.

Good King Henry

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Chenopodiaceae	Genus	Chenopodium
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	Most of Europe, including Britain, north to Scandanavia, W. Asia, N. America.
Habitat	Rich pastures, farmyards, roadsides etc[17].
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 0.3m.

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

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Seed.

Young leaves - raw or cooked[2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 33]. The leaves wilt quickly after picking and so they need to be used as soon after harvesting as possible[264]. They can be used as a potherb[4]. The leaves are best in spring and early summer, the older leaves become tough and bitter[200]. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Young leaves can be chopped and used as a small part of mixed salads, though we are not enamoured by their flavour[K]. The cooked leaves make an acceptable spinach substitute, but are best mixed with nicer leaves[K]. The leaves are a good source of iron[244]. Young flowering shoots - cooked[2, 27, 132, 264]. When grown on good soil, the shoots can be as thick as a pencil[4]. When about 12cm long, they are cut just under the ground, peeled and used like asparagus[183]. A very pleasant spring vegetable[K]. The plant is sometimes blanched by excluding the light in order to produce a longer and more succulent shoot, though this practice also reduces the quantity of vitamins in the shots[264, K]. Young flower buds - cooked[33, 183]. Considered to be a gourmet food[183], though they are rather small and harvesting any quantity takes quite a while[K]. Seed - ground and mixed with flour then used in making bread etc. The seed is small and fiddly but is easily harvested[K]. It should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins[K].

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.

Emollient; Laxative; Vermifuge.

The herb is emollient, laxative and vermifuge[7, 154]. This remedy should not be used by people suffering from kidney complaints or rheumatism[7]. A poultice of the leaves has been used to cleanse and heal chronic sores, boils and abscesses[4, 7]. The seed is a gentle laxative that is suitable for children[7].

Other Uses

Dye.

Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[168].

Cultivation details

Prefers a fertile humus rich soil in a sunny position[9, 16, 200]. The plant produces a better quality harvest in the summer if it is grown in light shade[264, K]. A very easily grown plant, it tolerates considerable neglect and succeeds in most soils and situations[16, 33, K]. Good King Henry was at one time frequently cultivated in the garden as a perennial vegetable, but it has fallen out of favour and is seldom grown at present[4, 46]. About thirty plants can produce a good supply of food for four people[264].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination can be slow, but usually a high percentage will germinate[K]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out into their permanent positions in the summer. Division in spring[200]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Potted Garden, The Woodland Edge Garden.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[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.

[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.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[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.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[16] Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0
A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.

[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.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[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.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth. 0
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria. 0
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[264] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.

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.

Chenopodium bonus-henricus

Mon Oct 16 2006

Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe, has recently written a couple of books about the explorer Pytheas "the Greek", who travelled to Britain and Northern Europe in pre-Roman times. His book "On the Sea" seems to be one of a very few written source about Britain in ancient times. According to Cunliffe Pytheas wrote that the staple diet of the inhabitants of Britain was millet. Cunliffe goes on to say that archaeologists have identified Chenopodium seeds in British excavations. So it seems that Fat Hen (or Good King Henry) was the basis of the British diet in ancient times. Would it be possible to to date the domestication and development of Good King Henry from Fat Hen from back to the Bronze Age? And, how would the plant have been cooked? Could we reconstruct a Bronze age meal?

Chenopodium bonus-henricus

ali gaafar Fri Nov 30 2007

Iam intersteng in cytogenetic studied in the genus chenopodium lso can you please send me of seeds of this genus

Chenopodium bonus-henricus

Pierre RICHARD Tue Oct 6 2009

Why "good king Henry"? Which king is it related to? We, french people, like our HenriIV so much that we celebrated him thanks to his support for botanics...sounds too simp;e to be true!

Chenopodium bonus-henricus

david Fri Oct 23 2009

The name has an interesting history, it had to be distinguished from a similar toxic plant called "Boser Heinrich" (Bad Henry) in Germany, the "king" was added later in England,(info from Oxford Companion to Food) it does not seem to be named after any real person.

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