Edible Portion: Leaves, Seeds, Sprouts, Flowers, Vegetable, Tea
An annual plant. It grows to 1 m high and spreads to 1 m across. The stem is erect. The stems are succulent and without hairs. They often have soft mealy lumps which can be rubbed off. The leaves are simple, with one at each node, and occurring alternately up the stem. The leaves are oval and wedge shaped with saw like edges. They are 5-12 cm long by 3-10 cm wide. The leaf stalk is usually shorter than the leaf blade. The under surface of the leaf often has a white mealy layer which can be rubbed off. The flowers occur in dense white spikes. The flowers occur at the tip and ends of branches. The fruit is a pod. It is small and roundish and papery. It opens around the tip. The pod contains a shiny black seed. Seed are 1.2-1.8 mm across.Seeds can occur in very large numbers.