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Common Name:

General Information

Valerianella chenopodifolia is an annual plant that can grow up to 0.60 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern N. America - southwards from New Jersey and Kansas.

Habitat

Meadows, bottoms, fields and roadsides[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.60 m
Pollinators	Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. Its native range suggests that it will be able to be grown as a hardy annual, in fact it might be possible to make a late summer sowing and grow it as an over-wintering annual, but it should certainly succeed from a late spring sowing in situ. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Prefers a fairly rich light soil[].

Edible Uses

Young leaves - raw or cooked[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - in order to obtain a continuous supply of salad leaves, it is best to sow the seed successionally from early spring to late summer in situ. A late summer sowing might also succeed, and this would supply edible leaves in the winter.