Wheelscale Saltbush (Atriplex elegans)

Family: Chenopodiaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Atriplex elegans is a ANNUAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Leaves

Harvest Seasons: Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer, Fall, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

flavouring with other foods. — They are boiled as a salty flavouring with other foods.; Seed - used in piñole or ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups and stews, or mixed with cereal flours to enhance their nutritional value when making bread, biscuits, cakes etc.; The seeds are about 1 - 1.5mm wide.

Habitat & North American Range

Saline creosote bush scrub and deserts below elevations of 800 metres. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)