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Is this street spinach ?

by Caro
(Cape Town)

Is this 'weed' edible ?

One hears about a local form of wild Amarinth that has been enjoyed as a leaf vegetable since time immemorial and has many indigenous names like 'marog'. In my ignorance I had always associated Amarinth with South America's dramatic and highly bred species eaten for their seeds or cultivated for decoration. This Amarinth grows through the cracks of street paving locally. I find pictures of similar looking plants under 'pests'. Various species look right and could fit the picture: A. blitum, A. retroflexus, A. viridus. I found another possibility, though it grows wild in the Natal midlands, a delicacy Imbuya – Amaranth Amaranthus hybridus on the fantastic website https://plantabundance.wordpress.com/tag/edible-weeds/

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Jun 20, 2017
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we are going to have to find a wise woman
by: Caroline

I don't know what to do about identification, perhaps a wise woman, experienced in foraging, or I'll give mum a call later today ?

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