Atriplex Species, Mountain Spinach, Purple Orach, Red Orach

I planted this last year and have an explosion of babies coming up everywhere in my garden area already. It is a good thing my family lov...Read Morees these leaves in salad and will be harvesting all the young plants that are in places they don"t belong before we move on to the ones that have popped up in the beds made for them.
These plants are very attractive in the garden and add wonderful color to salads. However, this year I will be more careful to cut them back before they all go to seed.

Magenta Orach! This spectacular plant showed up one year in the soil near my roof's run -off, probably brought there as a seed by a migra...Read Moreting spring bird. Its deep redish purple leaves seemed almost neon and imediately caught my eye. I carefull saved the seeds that winter after noting it disliked being transplanted, and much to my delight as well as bewilderment, it sprang up every where as soon as the soil allowed. Since our area has numerous noxious weeds I was a bit apprehensive about its intrusive nature. But its color was so appealing and so unusual. I decided to keep my new arrival in check and under wraps showing it only to those who happened to peer over my fence. It was certainly an eye grabber. My husband found a picture of it - Magenta orach or mountain spinach, in Mother Earth magazine. The mystery is solved and my plant can finally be shared with others.

Ornamental edible.
Not a true spinach, despite current trend of using common name 'Red Spinach' to describe it.

Th...Read Moreis is a spinach relative, in the same plant family as spinach.
Being in the same family as spinach doesn't make it a true spinach, because lots of different plants are in this Chenopodiaceae family, including lambsquarters and Epazote.

This plant is used as a spinach substitute, and with lovely red to purple foliage, also as an ornamental.

OMG, I live in Calgary, Alberta, not famed for a fabulous climate and this plant grows like crazy. I would call it invasive if left unche...Read Morecked. I just let it self seed in the fall and it starts coming up in March. The seedlings can survive our wild spring weather and will withstand below freezing weather, it's not uncommon for nighttime lows of -10C here in the spring.
I haven't tried eating it but will one day.