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Genus: Chenopodium
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants)
> Core Eudicots
> Order: Caryophyllales > Family: Amaranthaceae > Subfamily: Chenopodioideae
About 150
species, found worldwide, with 22 species in southern Africa, most of
which (13 species) are naturalised and occur as weeds. The leaves of
a number of species are cooked and eaten in the same way as spinach.
Both Chenopodium and Amaranthus species are
referred to as 'pigweed'.
The leaves of a number of Chenopodium species are
cooked and eaten in the same way as spinach, but it should be noted that great
care should be taken not to confuse the seedlings of Chenopodium with
those of the poisonous Nicotiana glauca (Wild tobacco). People can, and
have, died from making this mistake.
Species native or naturalised (*) in southern Africa
List from Makgakga (2003).
* Chenopodium album (Fat hen,
Goosefoot, Lamb's quarters)
The fresh leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable (in the same way as
spinach) in many parts of the world, including southern Africa.
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Chenopodium amboanum
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* Chenopodium ambrosioides (Wormseed)
The leaves are cooked and eaten as a spinach-like vegetable, in the same way
as Chenopodium album.
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* Chenopodium botryodes
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* Chenopodium carinatum
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* Chenopodium cristatum
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Chenopodium foliosum
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* Chenopodium giganteum
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* Chenopodium glaucum
The leaves are cooked and eaten as a spinach-like vegetable, in the same way
as Chenopodium album.
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Chenopodium hederiforme
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Chenopodium hircinum
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Chenopodium mucronatum
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* Chenopodium multifidum
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* Chenopodium murale
The leaves are cooked and eaten as a spinach-like vegetable, in the same way
as Chenopodium album.
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Chenopodium olukondae
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* Chenopodium opulifolium
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Chenopodium petiolariforme
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Chenopodium phillipsianum |
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* Chenopodium polyspermum
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* Chenopodium pumilio
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* Chenopodium schraderianum
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Chenopodium stellulatum
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Other species, cultivated in southern Africa
From Glen (2002).
Chenopodium bonus-henricus
(Good King Henry) Indigenous to Europe. Leaves are cooked
and eaten like spinach. It has not become naturalised in southern Africa but
it is cultivated in this region. |
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Chenopodium quinoa
(Quinoa)
Not listed in Glen (2002) but probably by now cultivated
in southern Africa as it has become a popular health food. |
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Publications
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Glen, H.F. 2002. Cultivated Plants of
Southern Africa. Jacana, Johannesburg.
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Makgakga, M.C. 2003. Chenopodiaceae. In
Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds), Plants of southern Africa: an
annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14: 362-369. National Botanical
Institute, Pretoria.
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