code: 906
it is often grown as an attractive ‘spot plant’
Family: Chenopodiaceae
Common name: GIANT TREE SPINACH
Plant Classification: Hardy annual
Minimum Height: 1.0 meter
Maximum Height: 1.5 meters
“Giant Tree Spinach”. A very rapid growing architectural curiosity. Although it is often grown as an attractive ‘spot plant’, it is more usually grown as a fresh vegetable. You can simply pull the continuously produced, stunning, purple-blotched leaves off. These can be used either as young leaves in salads, or mature leaves cooked like spinach.
Sowing advice:
For best results, seeds are sown directly into the ground where required in the spring. Alternatively, sow in late winter/early spring in gentle warmth, 15-20 degrees C. Prick out into small 3″ pots and plant in final position when the plants are established.
Habitat and distribution:
Chenopodium giganteum belongs to the same genus as quinoa or Chenopodium album. Many species of this genus have a long history of domestications as grain, vegetable or forage crops. Therefore, genetic relationships and place of origin are hard to determine. Chenopodium giganteum has two main subspecies one origin form India the other from America.
It grows well in Mediterranean environment but needs full or partial shade.
Use:
The young shoots and leaves of Chenopodium giganteum can be eaten cooked like spinach, another member of the Amaranthaceae. Most of the oxalic acid and saponins are removed during the cooking process, especially if boiled for 2 minutes at 100 °C (212 °F). However, the leaves are also edible raw in lower quantities, for example as a salad. The seeds can be prepared similar to rice or quinoa or can alternatively be ground into flour, which is then mixed with cereal flour for bread making.
