Bower Spinach

Bower Spinach photos

Family: Pigface (Aizoaceae)

Scientific Name:

Tetragonia implexicoma

Bower Spinach flower
Photo: A J Brown

Status:

Native to Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania.

Plant Description:

Prostrate, trailing or climbing plant with branches to 3 m long or more and sometimes forming mounds. Leaves are rhombic to angular-ovate, 1.5-6 cm long and 0.8-4 cm wide, papillose (pimple-like covering) and semi-succulent.

Flowers are strongly scented, solitary or rarely paired, and on stalks 5-30 mm long. Perianth segments (flower-like bracts) are 4 in number, shortly incurved at the apex, yellow on the inside and densely hairy outside. Flowering from August to November. Fruit are succulent orange-red berries which ripen to near black.

Habitat:

Common along the coastline on cliffs, sand dunes and in foreshore scrub but occasionally extending inland along tidal or brackish waterways.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Western, Gippsland	S0, S1, S2, S3	W0, W1, W2

*mainly confined to coastal environments

Comments:

Bower Spinach is in the Pigface family (Aizoaceae) but has dissimilar flowers. Differs from New Zealand Spinach by its 4 perianth segments (instead of 5), its yellow flowers and succulent fruit. Used as a valuable leaf vegetable by indigenous Australians and by early European sailors and settlers as a source of vitamin C to ward off scurvy. The berries were used as a source of red dye.

Bower Spinach photos

Bower Spinach leaf edge Photo: A J Brown	Bower Spinach leaves and flowers Photo: A J Brown
Bower Spinach plant Photo: A J Brown	Scrambling Bower Spinach plant Photo: A J Brown
Bower Spinach leaves and stems Photo: A J Brown	Ripe berry of Bower Spinach Photo: A J Brown

Page top