Blitum bonus-henricus

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Good-King-Henry
Illustration Chenopodium bonus-henricus0.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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.

Contents

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.

Description

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 18316 inch in diameter), greenish, [4] with five sepals. The seeds are reddish-green, 2–3 mm in diameter.

Taxonomy

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]

Distribution and habitat

It can be found throughout Britain and Europe generally, except in the southeast. [4]

Uses

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]

References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. Great British Bites: Lincolnshire spinach Times Online, 13 May 2008 (registration required)
  3. Grieve, M. (2014). "Goosefoots". A Modern Herbal. Botanical.com. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Francis-Baker, Tiffany (2021). Concise Foraging Guide. The Wildlife Trusts. London: Bloomsbury. p. 52. ISBN   978-1-4729-8474-6.
  5. Carl Linnaeus: Species Plantarum. Vol. 1, Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae 1753, p. 218.
  6. Susy Fuentes-Bazan, Pertti Uotila, Thomas Borsch: A novel phylogeny-based generic classification for Chenopodium sensu lato, and a tribal rearrangement of Chenopodioideae (Chenopodiaceae). In: Willdenowia. Vol. 42, No. 1, 2012, p. 18.
  7. "Blitum bonus-henricus". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  8. Blitum bonus-henricus at National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), accessed 2014-11-26.
  9. Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach: Flora Germanica excursoria. Vol. 2, Cnobloch, Leipzig, 1832, Vol 2, p. 582. online.
  10. "Chenopodium bonus-henricus". Tropicos . Missouri Botanical Garden . Retrieved 2014-11-25.
  11. "Chenopodium bonus-henricus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2014-11-25 via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  12. Mabey, Richard (2012). Food for Free. London: Collins. p. 103. ISBN   978-000-743847-1.