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Chenopodium giganteum
Also called Tree Spinnach, Magentaspreen
Tree spinach (Chenopodium giganteum) is a fast-growing annual leafy plant that can reach about 3 m, grown for its edible young leaves, seeds and ornamental magenta foliage. It does best in partial shade with reasonable moisture, and it can spread quickly.
Chenopodium giganteum, also known as tree spinach, is an annual, upright many-branched forb with a stem diameter of up to 5 cm at the base, that can grow to a height of up to 3 m.
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 originating from India the other from America.
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.
Fat-hen · Pitseed goosefoot · Figleaf goosefoot · Fremont's goosefoot · Narrowleaf goosefoot · Pitseed Goosefoot · Canihua · Desert goosefoot · Quinoa · Striped Goosefoot · Stinking goosefoot · Goosefoot
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chenopodium giganteum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
