Quill Posted January 16, 2010 I was talking to some guy the other day about my new vegie patch and he suggested a native plant that is quite similar to spinach. I think I spelled it right - does anyone have any experience growing or cooking with these? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted January 16, 2010 I was talking to some guy the other day about my new vegie patch and he suggested a native plant that is quite similar to spinach. I think I spelled it right - does anyone have any experience growing or cooking with these? yeah they're great. delicious & pretty easy to grow. you can find them growing wild in many parts of ausralia. also known as new zealand spinach.. Tetragonia expansa 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bℓσωηG Posted January 16, 2010 (edited) it grows as a weed in my garden, the name was given for marketing purposes formally called new zealand spinach....(Tetragonia tetragonoides) the texture puts people off when raw , steamed is ok, but overcooking ruins it, Full sun to light shade, Seasonal Young tender leaves can be harvested and treated like regular spinach. Origin: Local native (Melbourne region) once youve got one they will pop up year after year... Other names: Warrigal greens, Botany Bay spinach This is a common shrubby herb of sheltered beaches, saltmarshes, arid woodlands and plains, extending into central Australia. It has escaped from cultivation overseas to become a feral plant in Africa, Europe and the US. Uses : New Zealand spinach was one of Captain Cook's many famous discoveries. First sighted along the coasts of New Zealand, and later at Botany Bay, it was cooked and eaten by the Endeavour crew to allay scurvy. Joseph Banks considered it to "eat as well as spinach or very near it" and he took seeds to Kew Gardens. During the 1880s New Zealand spinach was promoted in European and American seed catalogues as a hardy, summer growing spinach substitute. It was popular for a time, then faded into obscurity. It has recently been rediscovered by wild food promoters in Australiaand can be ordered in bush tucker restaurants as 'Warrigal greens'. It is the only Australian plant to be cultivated internationally as a vegetable. The fresh leaves, cooked or served raw in salads, are very tasty. Odd as it may seem , New Zealand spinach was rarely eaten by Aborigines. According to anthropologists working north of Lake Eyre, its use there among Aborigines was 'made known by the white man'. A plant that is gradually becoming popular as a salad green replacement. Pull leaves off, wash and use or slice the leaves finely with other greens. One local gardener discovered eye irritation if juices rubbed near eyes. Use as for spinach, lettuce or cabbage. Leaves remain fresh longer than many other greens when picked. Edited January 16, 2010 by blowng Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted January 16, 2010 Warrigal Greens are a good addition to any garden - they are a versatile and hardy native plant that is quite nutritious.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
~shameless~ Posted January 16, 2010 It grows like a ground cover , once you get it established it needs no care at all and just handles hot weather real well ,but goes a little bitter - the best tasting leaves are the ones that have grown in cooler weather. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quill Posted January 17, 2010 thanks for all the replies guys. sounds like a winner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reptyle Posted January 20, 2010 make sure you cook it...oxalic acids an others... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted January 20, 2010 Tetragonia expansa Tetragonia expansa? Isn't it Tetragonia tetragonioides? Yeah, it's a good vege. Grows along coastlines. Tastes far better cooked than raw anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted January 21, 2010 Tetragonia expansa? Isn't it Tetragonia tetragonioides? Yeah, it's a good vege. Grows along coastlines. Tastes far better cooked than raw anyway. yep, it's synonymous bro i guess tetragonioides is more commonly used... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted January 22, 2010 Ahh, I see. Should have looked into it myself. I thought perhaps there were two species. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted July 3, 2010 Hey blowng - I swear I've read what you have written there before... isn't that from 'wild foods'? I reckon nz greens are yum. I love em in jaffles Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted July 5, 2010 (edited) Hey blowng - I swear I've read what you have written there before... isn't that from 'wild foods'? yes!! or something very similar. i just read that passage in the library today. most interesting, that the indigenous folk didn't eat it but it's the only aussie vegetable cultivated overseas. edit: and how good is that book, and others like it?? i had some idea about bush foods but no idea there were so many. Edited July 5, 2010 by ThunderIdeal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted July 5, 2010 always had a passion for em myself. constantly on the lookout when walking around the place. always love fresh water meets the sea spots lotsa yummy food there usually Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted July 5, 2010 what about insects? despite having a vego diet, i reckon i would go some tasty insects. if there is such a thing. those ants with the big ass full of honey maybe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted July 5, 2010 (edited) yep - sugar ants... they look pretty good.. or the orange style smaller ones I get here. or the green ones that live up north and are full of vit c. mmmm or yeah, all that wonderful seafood. I think a big thankyou and respect be due to the indigenous population that we stole this country from. Might have to start respecting it in a big way sometime soon... (better not get too political though or it'll start a bitch fight). edit: and thats why I shouldn't write stuff when I drink :/ please ignore my random posting about an issue that is much larger than can be encompassed by the throw away paragraph above. Back OT please meanies! Bushfoods are yum. peace Edited July 5, 2010 by meanies Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fyzygy Posted August 29, 2023 They think the infection probably occurred when the patient ate a native ground cover, similar to spinach, which she foraged from a lake-edge near her home in south-eastern NSW. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-08-29/living-roundworm-pulled-from-brain-of-patient-suspected-to-have-/102784908 (no pythons in my vege patch) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
saguaro Posted August 29, 2023 3 hours ago, fyzygy said: They think the infection probably occurred when the patient ate a native ground cover, similar to spinach, which she foraged from a lake-edge near her home in south-eastern NSW. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-08-29/living-roundworm-pulled-from-brain-of-patient-suspected-to-have-/102784908 (no pythons in my vege patch) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fyzygy Posted August 30, 2023 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-30/act-experienced-foragers-highlight-food-safety-after-brain-worm/102791050 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted September 13, 2023 Saw Warragul greens and figured maybe people were talking about the snake worm. Dayyyum. That’s my peeps.. best give them leaves a good wash or just take the lads from a bit further down the dunes away from any python pooping action! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
