name: New Zealand Spinach

flavor_db_name_variants: new zealand spinach

source: foodb

status: draft

food_db_id: New Zealand spinach

id: 415

name_scientific: Tetragonia tetragonioides

description: Tetragonia tetragonioides (or previously T. expansa) is a leafy groundcover also known as New Zealand spinach, Warrigal greens, kokihi, sea spinach, Botany Bay spinach, tetragon and Cook's cabbage. It is native to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Chile and Argentina. The species, rarely used by Maori or other indigenous people as a leaf vegetable, was first mentioned by Captain Cook. It was immediately picked, cooked, and pickled to help fight scurvy, and taken with the crew of the Endeavour. It spread when the explorer and botanist Joseph Banks took seeds back to Kew Gardens during the latter half of the 18th century. For two centuries, T. tetragonioides was the only cultivated vegetable to have originated from Australia and New Zealand. The species prefers a moist environment for growth. The plant has a trailing habit, and will form a thick carpet on the ground or climb though other vegetation and hang downwards. The leaves of the plant are 3–15 cm long, triangular in shape, and bright green. The leaves are thick, and covered with tiny papillae that look like waterdrops on the top and bottom of the leaves. The flowers of the plant are yellow, and the fruit is a small, hard pod covered with small horns. The plant is a halophyte and grows well in saline ground.

itis_id: 19938

wikipedia_id: Tetragonia tetragonioides

picture_file_name: 422.jpg

picture_content_type: image/jpeg

picture_file_size: 71382

picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:35:44.000Z

legacy_id: 449

food_group: Vegetables

food_subgroup: Leaf vegetables

food_type: Type 1

created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:40.000Z

updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:05:24.000Z

creator_id: null

updater_id: null

export_to_afcdb: false

category: specific

ncbi_taxonomy_id: 45318

export_to_foodb: true

public_id: FOOD00415