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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Tetragonia''
| image = Tetragonia_tetragonioides_habit.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Tetragonia tetragonioides''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Caryophyllales]]
| familia = [[Aizoaceae]]
| genus = '''''Tetragonia'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
About 50-60 species, including:<br/>
''Tetragonia angustifolia''<br/>
''Tetragonia arbuscula''<br/>
''Tetragonia copiapina''<br/>
''Tetragonia coronata''<br/>
''Tetragonia cristata''<br/>
''Tetragonia crystallina''<br/>
''Tetragonia decumbens''<br/>
''Tetragonia diptera''<br/>
''Tetragonia eremaea''<br/>
''Tetragonia espinosae''<br/>
''Tetragonia fruticosa''<br/>
''Tetragonia herbacea''<br/>
''Tetragonia implexicoma''<br/>
''Tetragonia macrocarpa''<br/>
''Tetragonia maritima''<br/>
''Tetragonia ovata''<br/>
''Tetragonia moore''<br/>
''Tetragonia nigrescens''<br/>
''Tetragonia pedunculata''<br/>
''Tetragonia tetragonioides''<br/>
''Tetragonia trigyna''<br/>
''Tetragonia vestita''
}}
'''''Tetragonia''''' is a genus of 50-60 species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Aizoaceae]], native to temperate and subtropical regions of the [[Southern Hemisphere]], in [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]], southern [[Africa]] and [[South America]]. Common names include '''New Zealand Spinach''', '''Kokihi''' ([[Māori language]]), '''Warrigal Greens''', '''Sea Spinach''', '''Botany Bay Spinach''', '''Duneweed''' (South Africa), and '''Cook's Cabbage'''.
The genus, widely used by [[Māori]] and other indigenous people as a [[leaf vegetable]], was first mentioned by [[James Cook|Captain Cook]]. It was immediately picked, cooked, and pickled to help fight [[scurvy]], and taken with the crew. It spread when the explorer and botanist [[Joseph Banks]] took a viable plant back to [[London]] during the latter half of the [[18th century]].
The species prefer a moist environment for growth. The plant grows flat on the ground. 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 [[flower]]s 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 [[salinity|saline]] ground.
===Cultivation===
It is grown for the [[List of plants with edible leaves|edible leaves]], and can be used as food or an [[ornamental plant]] for ground cover. As some of its names signify, it has similar flavour and texture properties to [[spinach]], and is cooked like spinach, although some, perhaps all species contain mild toxins which need to be removed by blanching the leaves in hot water for one minute, then rinsing in cold water before cooking. It can be found as an [[invasive plant]] in [[North America|North]] and [[South America]], and has been cultivated along the [[East Asia]]n rim. It thrives in hot weather, and is considered an [[heirloom vegetable]]. Few insects will bother it, and even [[slug]]s and [[snail]]s do not seem to bother it.
The thick, irregularly-shaped [[seed]]s should be planted just after the last spring [[frost]]. Before planting, the seeds should be soaked for 12 hours in cold water, or 3 hours in warm water. Seeds should be planted 5-10 mm deep, and spaced 15-30 cm apart. The seedlings will emerge in 10-20 days, and it will continue to produce greens through the summer.
[[Category:Aizoaceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[Category:Invasive species]]
[[Category:Flora of Australia]]
[[Category:Flora of Chile]]
[[Category:Flora of Argentina]]
[[Category:Flora of New Zealand]]
<gallery>
Image:PTetragonia2.JPG|
Image:Tetragonia3.JPG|
Image:Tetragonia1.JPG|
</gallery>
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Tetragonia''
| image = Tetragonia_tetragonioides_habit.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Tetragonia tetragonioides''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Caryophyllales]]
| familia = [[Aizoaceae]]
| genus = '''''Tetragonia'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
About 50-60 species, including:<br/>
''Tetragonia angustifolia''<br/>
''Tetragonia arbuscula''<br/>
''Tetragonia copiapina''<br/>
''Tetragonia coronata''<br/>
''Tetragonia cristata''<br/>
''Tetragonia crystallina''<br/>
''Tetragonia decumbens''<br/>
''Tetragonia diptera''<br/>
''Tetragonia eremaea''<br/>
''Tetragonia espinosae''<br/>
''Tetragonia fruticosa''<br/>
''Tetragonia herbacea''<br/>
''Tetragonia implexicoma''<br/>
''Tetragonia macrocarpa''<br/>
''Tetragonia maritima''<br/>
''Tetragonia ovata''<br/>
''Tetragonia moore''<br/>
''Tetragonia nigrescens''<br/>
''Tetragonia pedunculata''<br/>
''Tetragonia tetragonioides''<br/>
''Tetragonia trigyna''<br/>
''Tetragonia vestita''
}}
'''''Tetragonia''''' is a genus of 50-60 species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Aizoaceae]], native to temperate and subtropical regions of the [[Southern Hemisphere]], in [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]], southern [[Africa]] and [[South America]]. Common names include '''New Zealand Spinach''', '''Kokihi''' ([[Māori language]]), '''Warrigal Greens''', '''Sea Spinach''', '''Botany Bay Spinach''', '''Duneweed''' (South Africa), and '''Cook's Cabbage'''.
The genus, widely used by [[Māori]] and other indigenous people as a [[leaf vegetable]], was first mentioned by [[James Cook|Captain Cook]]. It was immediately picked, cooked, and pickled to help fight [[scurvy]], and taken with the crew. It spread when the explorer and botanist [[Joseph Banks]] took a viable plant back to [[London]] during the latter half of the [[18th century]].
The species prefer a moist environment for growth. The plant grows flat on the ground. 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 [[flower]]s 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 [[salinity|saline]] ground.
===Cultivation===
It is grown for the [[List of plants with edible leaves|edible leaves]], and can be used as food or an [[ornamental plant]] for ground cover. As some of its names signify, it has similar flavour and texture properties to [[spinach]], and is cooked like spinach, although some, perhaps all species contain mild toxins which need to be removed by blanching the leaves in hot water for one minute, then rinsing in cold water before cooking. It can be found as an [[invasive plant]] in [[North America|North]] and [[South America]], and has been cultivated along the [[East Asia]]n rim. It thrives in hot weather, and is considered an [[heirloom vegetable]]. Few insects will bother it, and even [[slug]]s and [[snail]]s do not seem to bother it.
The thick, irregularly-shaped [[seed]]s should be planted just after the last spring [[frost]]. Before planting, the seeds should be soaked for 12 hours in cold water, or 3 hours in warm water. Seeds should be planted 5-10 mm deep, and spaced 15-30 cm apart. The seedlings will emerge in 10-20 days, and it will continue to produce greens through the summer.
[[Category:Aizoaceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[Category:Invasive species]]
[[Category:Flora of Australia]]
[[Category:Flora of Chile]]
[[Category:Flora of Argentina]]
[[Category:Flora of New Zealand]]
<gallery>
Image:PTetragonia2.JPG|
Image:Tetragonia3.JPG|
Image:Tetragonia1.JPG|
</gallery>
