Strawberry Blite, it's not a disease!

Despite it’s common name (formerly of the genus Blitum) Strawberry Blite, Chenopodium capitatum, also known as Beetroot and Strawberry Spinach, has some attractive features.  The small ball shaped flower clusters (up to ½ inch) start out green but shortly turn bright red. These flowers mature to bright red edible fruit clusters (to ¾ inch) that contribute to the plant’s common name. The leaves of this species, as with other members of the genus, can be eaten like spinach, fresh or cooked.

Since I was interested in seeing how the aesthetic value of this plant developed, I did not taste the leaves or roots, both of which are edible.  I did try the red berries on several occasions.  They were slightly sweet and not unpleasant, but the seeds were rather large and hard.




Nice leafy example of Strawberry Blite in good soil, late spring.

 This plant is in the same genus as naturalized species Lamb’s Quarters, C. album, and as such I expected it to be equally vigorous.  My experience with this plant has been mixed. I was able to get good germination of the seed under lights without any pretreatment, but I did have problems getting plants to develop after transplanting, in a variety of soils.  I had better results direct sowing the seeds.  The seed pack indicates that they should reach maturity in 40-60 days.  In my crowded New England garden it took nearly 2 months for the plant to reach good size.  It has an upright and branching form, 8-24 inches in height. The gray-green leaves are triangular (as much as 4 inches on the lower branches) and alternately disposed on the branches.  The overall appearance is somewhat coarse.

The wild distribution of C. capitatum is throughout the northern half of North America including Alaska and into the Southwest.  It is not usually found in the Southeast or lower Plains States.  It is listed as a native to Connecticut, but as an introduced species to Massachusetts.  The native habitat is in open woods and can also be found along roadsides. It is often observed reappearing after fires.  It is noted the Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide to Southern New England that the seeds are very long lived.  As with other members of the genus, it produces large amounts of seed.  This may be a consideration in the garden, for once established, it may be difficult to permanently eliminate this plant from the site.

Overwintered plant developing flowers at end of May.

While listed by many sources as annual, I found that it is actually monocarpic.  Well at least I did after I looked up what that means.  A monocarpic plant lives to produce a single crop of seeds then it dies. In my case a couple of clumps of this plant grew as a leafy mass after transplanting and then developed flowers and fruits the following year before passing on.  A monocarp is not necessarily short-lived.  For example, Black Bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra, is also monocarpic, but it may take 70 years before it reaches maturity to produce a crop of seed.  After that the plant will die a natural death.

The genus Chenopodium has high wildlife value.  It is a food source for many birds including the snow bunting, catbird and morning dove.  This species serves as a larval host for the common sootywing butterfly (Pholisora catullus).  In addition to its value as a food plant, the red berries have been used dyes by several Native American groups.

The seeds are available from B&T World Seeds and Horizon Herbs (my source).  While I would really like to use seeds from my own eco-region, the provenance of these seeds is not likely from this area seeing as one supplier is in Europe and the other in Oregon.

For me the jury is still out on this plant.  Since I let most of the berries go to seed, I will watch for its return and test the flavor of the roots and leaves this time.  As a garden plant, its habit was too lax to be a featured highlight, although it could work in the background.  Has anyone else had experience growing this plant?   Stay tuned.