Orach. Chard 



59 



of the world with green food. Chicory tops, in the form 

 of witloof and otherwise, are much eaten. Many plants are 

 adaptable to such uses; we shall probably learn to prize 

 them as time goes on. 



Orach, a luxuriant annual of the goosefoot (pigweed) 

 tribe, is grown for the large succulent root-leaves. It is 

 essentially a cool-season plant, the seed being sown early 

 in spring and the foliage used before midsummer. The 

 plant sends up a strong flower-stalk, and thereafter it is 

 of no use as a potherb ; to avoid the flowering habit, seeds 

 should be planted very early, and successional sowing may 

 be made. There are green -leaved (white orach) and red- 

 leaved forms. As young plants they make handsome pot 

 specimens, particularly the red-leaved kinds. 



Orach is Atriplex liortensis, Linn., of Asia, with trian- 

 gular-ovate long-stalked leaves which have sinuate or 

 irregularly dentate margins, and usually a halberd-lobed 

 or truncate-lobed base ; upper stem leaves oblong to lanceo- 

 late. The smooth and glabrous erect graceful flowering 

 stems rise 3 to 5 feet; the fruits (^^ seeds '') are large, 

 flat, winged, disc-like, circular to ovate. Yar. ruhra, DC, 

 is the red-leaved orach. 



Chard, or leaf-heet, is one of the best of potherb plants, 

 particularly for summer, as it withstands heat. It ordi- 

 narily requires nearly a full season in which to mature, 

 although it will give a supply of edible foliage from early 

 summer until autumn. The chard has very broad and 

 thick leaf -blades and midribs, which are usually white or 

 tinted rather than green (Fig. 20). Sometimes these 

 are blanched by tying up the bunch of foliage. Seeds are 



