wild spinach

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wild spinach

A woman gathers wild spinach in a sunny meadow.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A wild plant whose leaves are collected and used like cultivated spinach: "Wild spinach" refers to any of several uncultivated plants, typically weeds, whose leaves are harvested from their natural habitat and used as a leafy green vegetable, often as a substitute for true spinach (Spinacia oleracea).
Examples of Usage
  • Noun:
    • Foragers often gather wild spinach in the spring.
    • This recipe calls for wild spinach, but you can use Swiss chard if you can't find any.
    • The common lambsquarters plant is sometimes called wild spinach.
Advanced Usage
  • As a collective term: "Wild spinach" is not a single species but a common name applied to various edible wild greens, such as lambsquarters () and orache ( species).
    • Many plants known as wild spinach belong to the amaranth family.
Variants and Related Words
  • Lambsquarters (n): A very common annual weed () whose leaves and young shoots are widely foraged as "wild spinach".
  • Orache (n): A genus () of plants, some species of which are also foraged and called "wild spinach" or "mountain spinach".
  • Potherb (n): A general term for any plant whose leaves, stems, or flowers are cooked and used as a vegetable, which includes plants called wild spinach.
Synonyms
  • Foraged greens: Emphasizes the method of obtaining the leaves.
  • Edible weed: Highlights that the plant is often considered a weed but is edible.
  • Spinach substitute: Describes its primary culinary use.
Related Phrases
  • To forage for wild spinach: To search for and collect these plants from their natural environment.
    • We went to the field to forage for wild spinach.
Related Idioms
  • (As) common as wild spinach: Used to describe something that is very plentiful or weedy (regional/contextual).
    • Those rumors are as common as wild spinach around here.
wild spinach

A woman gathers wild spinach in a sunny meadow.

Noun
  1. leaves collected from the wild
  2. leafy greens collected from the wild and used as a substitute for spinach
  3. common weedy European plant introduced into North America; often used as a potherb
  4. European plant naturalized in North America; often collected from the wild as a potherb