Chenopodium nuttalliae

Huauzontle Chenopodium nuttalliae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Subfamily:	Chenopodioideae
Genus:	Chenopodium
Species:	C. nuttalliae
Binomial name
Chenopodium nuttalliae Saff.
Synonyms
Chenopodium berlandieri subsp. nuttalliae

Chenopodium nuttalliae, huauzontle, is a Mexican vegetable related to the common American weeds goosefoot and lambsquarters. It resembles broccoli, although the stems are much thinner, and support fewer of the leaves.

As with other members of the goosefoot family, huauzontle is edible; it is typically prepared in a manner similar to spinach or broccoli. Alternatively, huauzontles can be encased in an egg batter and deep-fried with a stick of salty Mexican cheese. Having herby characteristics, it is occasionally used in Mexican cuisine

The plant Chenopodium nuttalliae is closely related to Chenopodium quinoa from the Andes (known as quinoa), but the seeds do not contain that much saponins as quinoa seed does. With huauzontle, the immature seed head or inflorescence is eaten, and the mature seeds are harvested for food in parts of Mexico and ground into flour to make tortillas. Prior to the development of maize by Native Americans southern Mexico, this plant was one of the major "grain" crops.^[1][2] To much due to trace amounts of toxins should be avoided. As well as cooking these plants can be used to create natural dye.

When growing the plant grows upright branches with red tinted green leafy stems which produce flower clusters that have the appearance of baby broccoli.

References

1. ↑ Redwood City Seed Company Catalog of Ecoseeds 2014.
2. ↑ Charles B. Heiser Jr. and David C. Nelson (1 September 1974). "On the origin of the cultivated chenopods (Chenopodium)" (abstract page). Genetics. 78 (1): 503–5. PMC 1213209 . PMID 4442716. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huauzontle.