Parakeelya (Calandrinia polyandra)

Family: Portulacaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Calandrinia polyandra is a ANNUAL/PERENNIAL growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in). It is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Leaves, Roots/Tubers

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

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Leaves - raw. The leaves contain oxalic acid and so some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity. Seed - raw or ground into a meal. — The leaves contain oxalic acid and so some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.; Seed - raw or ground into a meal.; The seed is very small and fiddly to harvest, especially since it ripens intermittently over a period of several weeks.; Root - raw or cooked.

Habitat & North American Range

Arid areas, often around salt lakes. Floodplains and stony plains in andy and loamy soils in Western Australia. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)