Warrigal Greens or New Zealand Spinach gets its name from its seeds because they look like puppies heads and Warrigal is the Wiradjuri word for dog and are a perennial spinach-like plant native across south eastern Australia. They are easy to grow and are an excellent ground cover producing bright, green leaves than can be harvested and blanched like spinach.
Like spinach and other leafy greens, Warrigal Greens contain oxalates meaning that it’s important that they’re blanched or cooked before eating (the heat removes the acid).
The botanical name of Tetragonia was given because the woody seeds are ten-sided. It’s also known as NZ Spinach as it’s native to New Zealand and also parts of eastern Asia, Chile, Argentina. A member of the ice plant or Aizoaceae family, Warrigal greens are an edible succulent.
The native plant grows quickly to 2 m across and around 30 cm high, Leaves contain high levels of vitamin K, as well as vitamins C and B6, and manganese. This is a native plant and should not be harvested wild, however the seeds can be purchased and grown.
They are one of those plants I would like to plant and have go wild on properties to gather and provide a crop year round
Seeds
https://www.theseedcollection.com.au/Warrigal-Greens
Recipes
Leave a Reply