An upright annual, growing to 1.2m (4 ft.), it has spear-shaped green to purple leaves, slightly downy when young, and a mass of yellow-green, sorrel-like flowers, borne on tall spikes, in summer.
History and traditions
This herb was eaten as a spinach-like vegetable by Native American tribes, and introduced to Britain in 1548. Sixteenth-century herbalists considered it to be effective against gout when applied as a poultice with honey, vinegar and salt. John Evelyn in his Acetaria, 1719, refers to its “cooling properties” and recommends it as a salad herb or vegetable, advising that, like lettuce, it should be boiled in its own moisture. Culpeper agreed that it could be eaten as a salad but thought its real virtue lay in the seeds, which he claimed made an effective laxative in the form of an alcohol tincture.
Culinary
Leaves of red orache add color and interest to salads, but, despite some recommendations, neither red nor green make very succulent spinach substitutes when cooked as vegetables.
Growth
Flourishes in any soil, tolerates dry conditions but growth is more luxuriant in moister, more fertile soil. Prefers an open, sunny position. Propagated by seed sown in situ in spring. Self-seeds prolifically.
