Hastate Orach (Atriplex hastata)

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

Atriplex hastata is a ANNUAL growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in). It is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September. 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: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

flavour and are often mixed with stronger tasting leaves. — Used as a spinach substitute, they have a fairly bland flavour and are often mixed with stronger tasting leaves.; Ground into a powder and used to thicken soups etc or added to wheat flour and used in making bread.; Very fiddly to harvest because the seed is quite small.

Habitat & North American Range

Waste or disturbed ground, often near the sea, on sand, shingle and mud above the high-tide mark. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)