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Chenopodium bonus-henricus

Perennial

HomePerennialChenopodium bonus-henricus

Rich pastures, farmyards, roadsides etc.

Family: Chenopodiaceae
Height: 0.3 m / 1 ft
Sun
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 2 of 5
Other Uses: 1 of 5

Native Habitat

Good King Henry Chenopodium bonus-henricus native habitat is Rich pastures, farmyards, roadsides etc.

Edible Uses

Young leaves - raw or cooked. The leaves wilt quickly after picking and so they need to be used as soon after harvesting as possible. They can be used as a potherb. The leaves are best in spring and early summer, the older leaves become tough and bitter. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Young leaves can be chopped and used as a small part of mixed salads, though we are not enamoured by their flavour. The cooked leaves make an acceptable spinach substitute, but are best mixed with nicer leaves. The leaves are a good source of iron. Young flowering shoots - cooked. When grown on good soil, the shoots can be as thick as a pencil. When about 12cm long, they are cut just under the ground, peeled and used like asparagus. A very pleasant spring vegetable. The plant is sometimes blanched by excluding the light in order to produce a longer and more succulent shoot, though this practice also reduces the quantity of vitamins in the shots. Young flower buds - cooked. Considered to be a gourmet food, though they are rather small and harvesting any quantity takes quite a while. Seed - ground and mixed with flour then used in making bread etc. The seed is small and fiddly but is easily harvested. It should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins.

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