Good-King-Henry | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Amaranthaceae |
Genus: | Blitum |
Species: | B. bonus-henricus |
Binomial name | |
Blitum bonus-henricus | |
Synonyms | |
see text |
Blitum bonus-henricus (syn. Chenopodium bonus-henricus), also called Good-King-Henry, [1] poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, [2] English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, [3] is a species of goosefoot which is native to much of central and southern Europe.
Good-King-Henry has been grown as a vegetable in cottage gardens for hundreds of years, although this dual-purpose vegetable is now rarely grown and the species is more often considered a weed.
It is an annual or perennial plant growing up to 60 centimetres (24 inches) tall. [4] The leaves are 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and broad, triangular [4] to diamond-shaped, with a pair of broad pointed lobes near the base, with a slightly waxy, succulent texture. The flowers are produced in a tall, nearly leafless spike 10–30 cm (4–12 in) long; each flower is very small (3–5 millimetres or 1⁄8–3⁄16 inch in diameter), greenish, [4] with five sepals. The seeds are reddish-green, 2–3 mm in diameter.
The species was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Chenopodium bonus-henricus in Species Plantarum . [5] Until 2012, the species was usually included in genus Chenopodium , but molecular genetical research revealed that it does not really belong to this genus. It seems to be more closely related to the genus Spinacia , and is now placed in the genus Blitum in the tribe Anserineae. [6] [7] [8] The scientific name Blitum bonus-henricus was first used by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1832. [9]
Synonyms basing on the same type specimen are: Agathophytum bonus-henricus(L.) Moq., Anserina bonus-henricus(L.) Dumort., Atriplex bonus-henricus(L.) Crantz, Chenopodium bonus-henricusL., Orthospermum bonus-henricus(L.) Schur, and Orthosporum bonus-henricus(L.) T. Nees. [10] Heterotypic synonyms are: Blitum perenneBubani, Chenopodium hastatumSt.-Lag., Chenopodium ruderaleKit. ex Moq., Chenopodium ruderaleSt.-Lag., Chenopodium sagittatumLam., Chenopodium spinacifoliumStokes, Chenopodium triangulareDulac, Chenopodium triangularifoliaGilib., and Orthosporum unctuosumMontandon. [11]
It can be found throughout Britain and Europe generally, except in the southeast. [4]
Cropping can begin in spring. Some of the new shoots can be thinned out as they appear (usually from mid-spring to early summer) and cooked like asparagus. All cutting should then cease so that shoots are allowed to develop. The succulent triangular leaves may be harvested a few at a time until the end of August and eaten raw [4] or cooked like spinach. [12] The flower buds can be cooked as well. [4]