''Chenopodium giganteum'', also known as tree spinach, is an annual, upright many-branched

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

with a stem diameter of up to 5 cm at the base, that can grow to a height of up to 3 m.Zhu, Gelin & Mosyakin, Sergei & E. Clemants, Steven. (2003). Chenopodiaceae (Flora of China). in ''Flora of China'', Volume 5, Chapter: Chenopodiaceae, Beijing: Science Press & St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven, pp. 351–414

Description

The younger leaves of ''Chenopodium giganteum'' are hairy with a magenta colour and the older become green. The rhombic to

ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...

formed

lamina Lamina may refer to: Science and technology * Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics * Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption betwee ...

can have a surface of up to 20 x 16 cm. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

consists of terminal

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s with

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

flowers, which are wind pollinated. The flowers contain 5

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

leaves and 5

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. The flowering period begins in August. The seeds have a diameter of 1.5 mm. The number of chromosomes is n=54.

Habitat and distribution

''Chenopodium giganteum'' belongs to the same genus as

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and ...

or ''

Chenopodium album ''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus ''Chenopodium''. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-h ...

''. 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 originating from India the other from America. It grows well in Mediterranean environment but needs full or partial shade. ''Chenopodium giganteum'' does not have high requirements on soil quality. Furthermore, it shows weedy characteristics such as fast growth and rapid spreading. In a few countries, such as Germany and Slovakia, ''Chenopodium giganteum'' has been reported as a

neophyte A neophyte is a recent Initiation, initiate or Religious conversion, convert to a subject or belief. Neophyte may also refer to: Science * Neophyte (botany), a plant species recently introduced to an area As a proper noun Arts and entertainme ...

. The commercial cultivation of ''Chenopodium giganteum'' is nearly inexistent. But because of its stable and high yield ''Chenopodium giganteum'' could be a plant of the future.

Use

The young shoots and leaves of ''Chenopodium giganteum'' can be eaten cooked like spinach, another member of the

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it ...

. Most of the

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early inve ...

and

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

s 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 Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

or can alternatively be ground into flour, which is then mixed with cereal flour for bread making. Due to the partially pink coloured leaves, ''Chenopodium giganteum'' also has an ornamental value.

Nutrition

As common for species of the family

, the plants contain some amounts of

s and

, which in high concentrations can have negative health impacts on humans (e.g.

Hemolysis Hemolysis or haemolysis (), also known by several other names, is the rupturing (lysis) of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and the release of their contents (cytoplasm) into surrounding fluid (e.g. blood plasma). Hemolysis may occur in vivo o ...

Kidney stone disease Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q486904 giganteum Edible nuts and seeds Leaf vegetables Ornamental plants