waterhemp/marestail

A conversation with a Montana farmer:

Bean Farmer:

"Having a really hard time knocking these pest of weeds down. Sprayed once and knocked them pretty good but there right back again. Anybody have that "special recipe"?


Me: 


"You could try to find a market for it. It is edible. 

I found the following in a quick search of edible plant databases for all amaranthus species like waterhemp/marestail: 

Young leaves - raw or cooked as a spinach. A mild flavour, it is often mixed with stronger flavoured leaves. Very rich in iron, it is also a good source of vitamins A and C.

Seed - raw or cooked. Ground into a powder and used as a cereal substitute, it can also be sprouted and added to salads. The seed is very small, about 1mm in diameter, but easy to harvest and very nutritious. The flavour is greatly improved by roasting the seed before grinding it. It is often added to cornmeal. 

That is my recipe. 

What do you say? "

of course you might need to reconsider some of your pest management strategies if you want to access the wild foods market.

Might be worth it though. 

Can also be used as a dye.

Ex-situ and In-situ Conservation

In-situ conservation is the preferred mechanism for maintaining biodiversity (Tuxtil & Nabhan 2003) because through in-situ conservation target species are preserved, along with all associated species. In-situ conservation can be a bi-product of wild collection when a proper evaluation of the ecosystem (Kacalek et al. 2009) and cultural functions (Melloni et al. 2008; Mitchell et al. 2007) is considered.

Ex-situ conservation as an approach for the conservation of habitats is questionable. Taking a species out of its natural habitat and away from the commensurate species who depend on it may preserve that species but will take attention and resources away from preservation of the diversity of life which depend on that species. Native species of plants, algae and fungi have evolved to create habitat and symbiosis with a host of associated species. Introduced and non-native farmed species are disassociated from native ranges and do not offer the same level of environmental benefits. As lands are converted from wild to human oriented use the loss of biodiversity is high, even in agricultural systems with higher biodiversity, e.g. agroforestry and organic (Steffan-Dewenter et al. 2007). 

Use of Zostera marina for conservation

Seagrass has a number of important eco system functions including habitat for fish spawning, nutrient cycling, erosion protection and buffering of pollutants (Han et al. 2008). The eelgrass, Zostera marina L., has traditionally been used for a myriad of purposes in these North Atlantic coastal communities (Alm 2003). Unfortunately, During the 1930s, a widespread infection of the slime mold, Labryinthula spp., stopped the harvest of this plant species (Cottam 1934; Muhlstein 1989). The plant community rebounded shortly thereafter and was briefly used for the collection of a product called sea-felt. Fiberglass soon filled that cultural and economic niche and ended the wild harvest once again (Wyllie-Echeverria et al. 2000). Thereafter, the areas where the species had previously been protected for the harvest began to be developed and mismanaged.

The hopeful news is that there may be more uses, which will lead to conservation, for the troubled seagrass habitat areas the circumpolar North Atlantic. Ethnobotany plays a role in these cultural conservation mechanisms (Norton & Hannan 1997). Ethnobotany and paleo-ethnobotany of the species was explored through the archives and structured interviews throughout the North Atlantic. Based on these interviews, awareness raising about the cultural and ecological diversity of Z. marina and its habitat have already lead to preservation of historical work sites and habitat conservation in Nova Scotia (Wyllie-Echeverria et al. 2000).

Alm T. 2003. On the Uses of Zostera marina, Mainly in Norway Economic Botany. 57(4):640-45

Cottam, C., 1934. Eelgrass disappearance has serious effects on waterfowl and industry. pp 191-93 in US Department of Agriculture Yearbook of Agriculture ed by M.S. Eisenhower.

Han, Qiu-Ying; Shi, Ping. 2008. Progress in the study of seagrass ecology, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research for Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 28(11):5561-5570.

Muhlstein, L. K., 1989. Perspectives on the wasting disease of eelgrass, Zostera marina. Diseases of Aquat. Organ. 7: 211-21

Norton B.G., Hannon B. 1997, Environmental Values: A place-based theory. Environ. Ethics 19: 227-45.

Wyllie-Echeverria, S., Arzel, P., Cox, P. A. 2000. Pacific Conservation Biology. 5:329-35