New Zealand spinach
Tetragonia tetragonioides · Ice plant family
Plant portrait
New Zealand spinach spreads branching stems bearing thick triangular leaves.
Harvested part
The leaves and young shoot tips of vegetable plants.
What to watch for
Watch fleshy leaves and spreading growth; this plant differs from ordinary spinach.
Growth stages of the New Zealand spinach
Plotilo illustrates the New Zealand spinach in 5 stages in 3D: seed, small sprout, young plant, growing and harvest. The models show typical shapes; they do not predict how long growth takes.
- Seed
Starting from a seed. It is shown on the surface to make it visible in this illustration.
- Small sprout
A short first stem and its first small leaves emerge.
- Young plant
The young plant carries more leaves and starts to take its own shape.
- Growing
Leaves and stems develop. Their shape depends on the species.
- Harvest
An illustration of the harvested part. Roots are made visible for clarity; this image does not confirm actual maturity.
Same botanical family
Same botanical family as the New Zealand spinach (the ice plant family): the ice plant. Gardeners usually avoid growing the same family in the same spot several years in a row: that is the idea behind crop rotation.