Strawberry goosefoot (Chenopodium foliosum)
Other names leafy goosefoot
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Annual
- Exposure
- Full sun
Cultivation
An easily grown plant, succeeding in most soils but disliking shade. Formerly cultivated for its edible leaves. This species is closely related to C. capitatum.
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in situ. Most of the seed usually germinates within a few days of sowing.
Edible uses
Leaves - cooked and used like spinach. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Seed - ground into a powder and cooked. It can be added to cereal flours and used in making bread. Very small and fiddly. Soak the seed for 12 hours and then thoroughly rinse it in order to wash off any saponins before grinding it[K]. Fruit - raw. Fairly insipid, though quite attractive to look at[K]. The fruit is about 12mm in diameter.
Material uses
Gold/green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant.
Habitat
Waste places and waysides.
Native range
S. Europe to N. Africa and Asia.
Scientific synonyms Blitum virgatum