Seaberry Saltbush (Rhagodia candolleana)

Family: Amaranthaceae

Habitat: Coastal areas, dunes

Flowering Time: Summer

Description and uses: 

A coastal cousin of the other Saltbushes found around South Australia, Seaberry Saltbush (Rhagodia candolleana also known as Chenopodium candolleanum) is another plant that’s quite edible.

It’s a sprawling shrub, with leaves that are thick and shiny green on top and whitish beneath. The flowers are in a branched spray (called a pannicle) and the berries form on these branches after flowering time, which ranges from late December to March.

In the area where we forage, I find the berries have a purplish tinge when ripe. this stains the fingers quite well too, so my family always knows when I’ve been having a feed!

The leaves can be cooked in water, and the slightly bitter berries are  edible throughout summer. To be honest, though, they’re not my favourite Saltbush berry – I prefer Mealy Saltbush berries, they’re a little less bitter.