Atriplex hortensis

Orache ( Atriplex hortensis ), illustration

Called The Garden signaling ( Atriplex hortensis ), also Spanish lettuce, spinach and Spanish Orache, is a flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae ). She is one of the oldest cultivated plants and is or has been used as a vegetable, salad, medicinal, dyers as well as an ornamental plant. She was elected by the Wildlife Protection Society Germany to crop of the year in 2000.

• 5.1 Nahrungspflanze
• 5.2 Medicinal plant
• 5.3 dye plant
• 5.4 Renewable Resource
• 5.5 ornamental plant

• 7.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The garden reporting is an annual herbaceous plant, reaching heights of growth of up to 2.5 meters. The aboveground plant parts have a lightly floured surface and are often run red. The stiff - upright, green striped stem is branched obliquely or upstanding and in cross-section blunt quadrangular.

The alternate arranged leaves are stalked 0.3 to 4 cm long. The both sides matt dark green ( or red ) lobed, superficially indented leaf blade is at a length of 5 to 25 cm and a width of 3 to 18 cm oblong- ovate to triangular, with pike -shaped or blunt cut-off basis. The leaf margin is serrated margin entire or shallowly sinuate.

Inflorescence and flower

The garden blooms in reporting the moderates widths from July to September. Pollination is by self-pollination or wind pollination, the transfer of pollen by insects is possible. The flowers are borne in balls in a terminal or pendant, composite, aged men inflorescence in the axil of bracts.

The green or red flowers are male, female or hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodite flowers ( without bracts ) contain five elongated bracts ( tepals ), and five stamens and a horizontal ovary. In a purely male flowers the ovary is missing in female "horizontal" flowers the stamens are not developed. The female always 'vertical' flowers are surrounded by two continue reading, bloom are not present, they contain only a vertical ovary.

Fruit and seeds

The fruit stand is because of its weight, often very overhanging. The vertical fruit remains enveloped by the semitransparent continue reading, which enlarge the fruit time to about 15 mm, are short-stalked and are only connected to the blunt or something ausgerandeten basis. The shape of the bracts is roundish to ovate, entire and not or scarcely acuminate. Its surface shows a reticulate venation. In the "horizontal" flowers bloom surrounded the horizontal fruit.

A thin pericarp enclosing the seed. There are two types of seeds ( Heterokarpie ) which occur in both vertical and horizontal in flowers. The yellow- brown seeds with a diameter of 3 to 4 mm and a matte and translucent seed coat are capable of germinating immediately. The black seeds with a diameter of only 1.5 to 2 mm and a smooth, thick, leathery seed coat germinate only after two years.

Chromosome number

The chromosome number is 2n = 18

Ecology

The garden Orach is a C3 plant with normal leaf anatomy. False fruits differently shaped, flat, roundish, winged, 5-10 mm in size. Wind spreaders, gliders, Regenschwemmling.

Ingredients

The garden is reporting how many other vegetables, rich in vitamins (A, C) and minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus) and protein. Similar to spinach also contains oxalic acid, but in a lesser amount than this. In the seeds of garden reporting saponin is included, which explains their laxative effect.

Occurrence and origin of the cultivar

The garden reporting is widespread throughout Europe, the Mediterranean region, over Central Asia to China. Their home is the Middle East and the Orient. In the tropics, it is rare to find.

Archaeological evidence suggests that it has been cultivated for thousands of years. As wild type, the type Atriplex aucheri is suspected that occurs in Central Asia. Taste tests have a variety from the gloss - reporting ( Atriplex sagittata ), however, appear unlikely, since this leaves a burning, bitter taste.

Already the Greeks was the message well known, and it was then cultivated not only in the Mediterranean countries, but also to Tibet and Bengal. The earliest description is from Theophrastus ( 371-287 BC). The Greeks called the plant Atraphaxis, Andraphax or Chrysolachanon what " Gold vegetables " means and most likely refers to the yellow-green, coin -like fruit. Among the Romans the reporting Atriplex was called, presumably because of the triangular ( " triplex " ) leaf shape. The Romans brought the plant similar to the chard then to Central Europe. Early archaeological evidence is kitchen waste in Roman forts. The use of garden reporting as food in Europe has been pushed back only by the introduction of spinach by about 1200.

In Germany, the garden is reporting today cultivated relatively rare. She is fickle wild before in fields and short-lived weeds corridors.

Taxonomy

The Garden signaling ( Atriplex hortensis ) belongs to the genus Atriplex Atriplex section. It belongs to the tribe Atripliceae in the subfamily Chenopodioideae within the family of Amaranthaceae ( Amaranthaceae ). In this family, the Goosefoot family ( Chenopodiaceae ) are now included.

The first description of Atriplex hortensis was made in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum 2, S.1053. This species was selected as the type species ( lectotype ) of the genus Atriplex.

Synonyms of Atriplex hortensis L. Chenopodium are hortense (L.) EHL Krause and Atriplex microtheca Moq ..

From the garden reporting exist at least four varieties:

• ' Yellow indicator ' or 'White signaling ' ( Atriplex hortensis var atrosanguinea ): This cultivar with bright green, almost yellow leaves grown the most.
• ' Green indicator ' ( Atriplex hortensis var hortensis, syn: A. sativum var h ): It is a vigorous plant with strong, edgy, verzweigendem stems and has dark green, rather round, smooth-edged leaves.
• ' Red indicator ' ( Atriplex hortensis var rubra): It turns on by crimson stems and leaves. The undersides of the lower leaves are strong pink. Her brown seeds are light brown kidney-shaped and dark. This form is drawn mainly as an ornamental plant ( dried flower ), but can be just like the other varieties are used in the kitchen.
• ' Half Red indicator ': this form is rarely cultivated.

Trivial names

In the German-speaking region or the other following trivial names were used for this species, some only regionally, related: Burckhart, Green herb ( Silesia), Loboda ( Lower), Malten, Matter herb ( Göttingen), Meilde ( Middle High German ), Melda, Sign, Mell (Mecklenburg, Altmark, Eifel ), Melle (Göttingen, lower Weser ), Melta ( Old High German ), Mild ( middle High German ), Groot Mill ( Pomerania ), Milt ( middle High German ), Miltenberg ( middle High German ), Molta ( Old High German ), Native Molten, Molte ( Austria ), Muolta ( early Old High German ), Muolhta ( early Old High German ), Mylde ( middle High German ) and Mylden ( middle High German ).

Use

Food plant

Garden signaling is either cooked like spinach or young leaves are used raw in salads. In France one eats the garden reporting with sorrel. When cooking the red variety, the leaves do not lose the color, although the cooking water still can dye a soup. The flavor of the leaves is pleasant with a bitter component. For Kindergarten registration is more pleasant than spinach, probably because of the lower oxalic acid content.

The seeds are edible cooked. Ground they served in times of need as a flour additive. They contain vitamin A, but also saponins.

Medicinal plant

The garden reporting was formerly used as versatile medicinal plant. The leaves have a diuretic ( diuretic). Leaves and seeds were used as an emetic ( emetic ) and as a laxative ( purgativa ). They were also used to stimulate the metabolism as a spring makeover and used for nervous exhaustion. In folk medicine, hence lung diseases were treated. Used externally, the sheets are to help with gout. The seeds were administered mixed with wine in jaundice. Liniments from the juice of the whole plant were regarded as a folk remedy for skin diseases and ulcers in the throat.

Dye plant

From the seeds of a blue color can be obtained. In the Middle Ages it was known that signaling can dye your hair black and green materials.

A renewable resource

The garden reporting can be grown for the production of biomass. So that the proceeds were obtained from 14 tons per hectare in Sweden, in more southern areas are to be expected higher yields. After extraction of the protein from the leaves of more than 13 tons of biomass left over as a byproduct, which can be used to produce biofuels.

Ornamental plant

The red-leaved cultivars of garden reporting be used in the garden as a leaf jewelry.

Cultivation

In the moderate latitudes, the garden is cultivated message similar to the spinach. The seeds are inserted from February 30 to 60 cm spacing on open office 2 cm deep into the ground, later thinned. The Garden signaling is used as a young plant, so after about 40 to 60 days depending on the weather. A repeated sowing is therefore useful. At full sun, they will grow best, but then also needs according to water - in dry weather the plants grow more slowly and form seeds earlier.

The Garden signaling tolerates drought ( 30 to 140 mm of rainfall annually), Frost, and acidic soils ( pH 5.0 to 8:2), heat, salt, sand and weeds. The yield is 450 up to 800 kg per hectare of leafy vegetables. 14 tons of biomass per hectare are possible, of which 1 t protein. The cultivation is mainly non-commercial.

The plant is partially infested with lice regularly and heavily. In the garden, it suffices then to remove the stems in question.