Chenopodium capitatum (L.) Ambrosi, Strawberry-blite
Account Summary
Introduced, neophyte, deliberately planted, locally extinct. Native of N America, an introduced weed in much of Europe.
1903; Carrothers, N.; garden plot at Farnaght, SE of Tamlaght.
Fermanagh discovery, growth form and preferred habitats
This hardy summer annual was first noted by Nathaniel Carrothers, father of E. Norman Carrothers, who published a short note in The Irish Naturalist in 1903 stating that, "this queer Chenopod" had been known from his ancestral farm for over a century. Carrothers (1903) reported that the colony always occupied a very limited area in a vegetable patch and although stray plants did occasionally make it into adjoining fields, they always disappeared after a year or two. This solitary Fermanagh station for the alien was also known to Praeger in the 1930s and to Meikle, Carrothers and co-workers in the late 1940s and early 1950s when they were recording in the VC (Praeger 1939; Typescript Flora; Revised Typescript Flora). The farm was visited by Robert Northridge and myself in 1989 and the present owner, Mr D. Carrothers was able to point out the exact spot where the species had grown up until about 1974, since when it has not been seen (Northridge 1991). There might well be seeds surviving dormant in the soil, but for the present the plant remains 'functionally extinct'.
Appearance and possible origin
C. capitatum is known by the English common name 'Strawberry-blite', or locally in Fermanagh by the Carrothers' family as 'Strawberry Spinach', on account of its startlingly scarlet globular fruit clusters which resemble Wild Strawberries in both colour and general appearance. Cultivars of C. capitatum with white or red leaves were in use as garden ornamentals in the early 19th century, and it is possible that the Fermanagh plants might have been self-sown survivors of this forgotten horticultural fashion statement (Reynolds 1994).
Irish occurrence
Elsewhere in Ireland, the only other findings of C. capitatum were from a rubbish tip at Stranmillis in S Belfast in 1909 (voucher in DBN), and a recent record by Reynolds (1990), who found this usually casual alien in September 1988 at Foynes docks in Limerick city on the Shannon estuary. She regarded it as being imported with animal feed. Foynes docks also yielded the first Irish records of two other casual alien Chenopodium species in the same year, ie C. glaucum (Oak-leaved Goosefoot) and C. strictum (Striped Goosefoot). The Limerick docks began importing commercial animal feed originating from many parts of the world as recently as December 1978, and by 1987 they were handling about 25% of the total Irish requirements (Reynolds 1990).
British occurrence
The New Atlas map plots around 45 widely scattered hexad records of C. capitatum in Britain, most frequently occurring across the English Midlands south of a line between Liverpool and Hull, but stretching as far north as Inverness. It is considered a neophyte introduction, most probably a relict of cultivation, or an accidental wool shoddy import, or a bird-seed or esparto alien. The plant tends to be a casual on lowland waste ground and rubbish tips, but occasionally it may be naturalised on cultivated ground. It appears to have declined in presence in the last 50 years in both Britain and Ireland.
European and World occurrence
C. capitatum is a native of N America including Alaska and northern Canada. It was formerly cultivated as a garden ornamental, and probably also for its small, edible fruits. These are described as pulpy, red and strawberry-like. The green shoots provide a spinach-like potherb and the fruit juice can be used as a red dye. The shoots and leaves can also be eaten as a salad, but they contain toxic oxalates so should only be consumed in small quantities. In truth, the bright red berries are more visually attractive than tasty. The plant is widely reported as a casual neophyte species in Europe and elsewhere.