If Hablitzia, the Caucasian Spinach, had been discovered in Italy these unopen flower clusters would no doubt be known as Hablizzoli…Hablitzia broccolis or Broccoli di Hablizzias….Although small, they are the tastiest part of the plant so far…simply delicious :)
Tag Archives: Hablitzia tamnoides
Hablitzia racing anyone?
Can you see your Hablitzia grow?? I must measure mine next year! http://backyardlarder.blogspot.hu/2016/05/how-fast-can-climbing-spinach-climb.html…
Thanks, Alison Tindale!
Around the World in Oslo!
A full house of a mixed crowd of all ages, some 70 people, had turned up for my lecture at the Botanical Garden in Oslo despite the beautiful evening (we should have been outside) and the long holiday weekend! Thanks to the Norwegian Botanical Associtation and Natural History Museum for putting on this event and in particular Honorata Gajda.
Back home now after a night on the train…a fantastic week on the road, thanks to all the people who helped along the way….and some 60 books lighter :)
Hablitzia in snow
Norwegian sansai
Good to be back from Japan to Norwegian sansai (foraged vegetables)….
From top left, left to right: Angelica archangelica “Vossakvann”, various dandelions / løvetann (Taraxacum), Rumex patientia (patience dock/hagesyre), Garlic bulbil shoots (forced indoors), ground elder / skvallerkål, Rheum palmatum (petiole), Rumex acetosa (sorrel / engsyre), Myrrhis odorata (with root ; sweet cicely / spansk kjørvel), chervil / hagekjørvel, Campanula latifolia (giant bellflower / storklokke), horseradish / pepperrot ( shoot), Anredera cordifolia (Madeira vine; grown inside), Alliaria petiolata ( garlic mustard / løkurt), Hemerocallis (daylily/daglilje), Ranunculus ficaria (lesser celandine / vårkål), Urtica dioica (nettle / nesle), Allium senescens x nutans, Hablitzia tamnoides (Hablitzia, Caucasian spinach / stjernemelde)…made into a stir fry with soba (buckwheat pasta)
Hablitzia and the few-flowered leeks
In December’s very mild weather there was mass germination of Hablitzia around my oldest plant next to the house. This has happened before, but none of the seedlings made it through the colder weather afterwards. Therefore, I dug them up and transplanted into pots and have had them in my cool but frost free porch ever since. They haven’t grown much, but it seems I dug up some bulbs of Allium paradoxum with them as they are growing away well, so I will be eating them in tonight’s salad!
Bay Hablitzia
I have two large pot grown bay trees (Laurus nobilis) which are moved into my porch for the winter. In the summer, they are outside quite near to my oldest Hablitzia. A couple of seeds found their way into the pot a couple of years ago and the resultant plants seem quite happy there, clearly not bothered by not experiencing sub-zero tempreatures (it’s mostly between +5C and +10C) where it’s growing with little light. Last summer it climbed into the Bay in the spring, but died back earlier than my other plants presumably due to the drier conditions in competition with the Bay! Time for a snack soon!!
Review of ATW in Economic Botany
Very pleased to get a review of my book in the latest issue of the journal Economic Botany (4/2015) :) The first time that Hablitzia tamnoides gets a mention in said journal too, although they managed to spell it HABLITIZIA, so you won’t find it in the index :(
Mass Hablitzia germination for Xmas
In mild but cool weather during early winter the last couple of years, Hablitzia has germinated en masse around my mother plant next to my house. These all died in later cold weather last winter. When mass germination happened around Xmas 2015, I therefore decided to rescue them by potting up and bringing them in to a cool room. It was just in time as it froze solid just after with very low temperatures since and now deep snow…here they are today (it’s been between 0 and 8C where they are growing). 