Herb: Giant Saltbush


Latin name: Atriplex nummularia


Family: Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot Family)



Edible parts of Giant Saltbush:

Leaves and young shoots - cooked. Seed - cooked. It can be used as a piäole or be ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups are added to flour for making bread.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Shrub

Height:
3.5 m
(11 feet)

Flowering:
May to
July

Habitat of the herb:

Alkaline places, mainly below 600 metres in California.

Propagation of Giant Saltbush:

Seed - sow April/May in a cold frame in a compost of peat and sand. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 13°C. Pot up the seedlings when still small into individual pots, grow on in a greenhouse for the first winter and plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy. Pot up as soon as they start to root (about 3 weeks) and plant out in their permanent positions late in the following spring. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November/December in a frame. Very easy. Pot up in early spring and plant out in their permanent position in early summer.

Cultivation of the herb:

Alkaline places, mainly below 600 metres in California.

Medicinal use of Giant Saltbush:

None known

Known hazards of Atriplex nummularia:

No member of this genus contains any toxins, all have more or less edible leaves. However, if grown with artificial fertilizers, they may concentrate harmful amounts of nitrates in their leaves.

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.