Good King Henry
Blitum bonus-henricus
Botanical family: Amaranthaceae (formerly Chenopodiaceae)
Blitum bonus-henricus (formerly Chenopodium bonus-henricus) owes its name to Henri IV, 'good Henri'. Grown in every mountain and monastery garden until the Second World War. Mentioned by Olivier de Serres in 1600 among the 'poirées' of the royal garden. A taste between spinach and sorrel, slightly earthier. Traditionally used in Italian strangolapreti and Vosges soups.
Sun to partial shade
Rich in nitrogen and humus, cool, deep
Regular (dislikes prolonged drought)
Very hardy (-25 °C), perennial 5-10 years
Overwinters in your zone
Wind-pollinated (anemophilous)
Role in permaculture
A practically vanished European perennial garden vegetable, supplanted by cultivated spinach in the 19th century. A pillar of modern permaculture gardens: one planting, 5 to 10 years of production without replanting. Three harvests a year: young shoots in spring like spinach, flower buds as a mini-broccoli, leaves until the first frosts. Particularly suited to mountain climates and areas of light shade.
Good companions
Harbour beneficial insects (insectary plant)
Chop-and-drop biomass (rich mulch)
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Insects attracted or useful
Seasons & availability
A hardy perennial: sown in spring, in March and April, or in autumn, in September and October, for a first harvest about six months later; young shoots and flowering stems are picked in spring, then the leaves in autumn, avoiding high summer when they turn too tough.
Available: April, May, September, October, November.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- La Ferme de Sainte Marthe, « Réussir la culture du chénopode bon Henri » (fermedesaintemarthe.com/en/blogs/comment-reussir-la-culture-de/reussir-la-culture-du-chenopode-bon-henri)
- Plants For A Future, « Chenopodium bonus-henricus » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Chenopodium+bonus-henricus)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Like spinach and sorrel, the leaves contain oxalic acid: to be eaten in moderation, particularly in case of a tendency to calcium oxalate kidney stones, and cooking is advised for large quantities. No dangerous confusion known with a toxic plant. A mountain species that has become rare in the lowlands (for example considered extinct in the wild in the Île-de-France region according to the regional red list): it's better to grow it from seed than to gather it in the wild.
Family behaviour: Amaranthaceae
In general, Amaranthaceae bring together leaves and roots of the same kinship (beetroot, chard, spinach, plus quinoa and amaranth). Often tolerant of poor or slightly salty soils, a legacy of their ancestors from harsh habitats, they are rather hungry for well-rotted organic matter and dislike fresh manure.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Species
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
French royal kitchen-garden tradition · Vivarais, early 17th century
Olivier de Serres, a Huguenot agronomist and author of the Théâtre d'Agriculture et Mesnage des Champs (1600), recommends 'bon-Henri' as one of the 'chards' indispensable to the parsonage garden. A plant of the poor, a perennial plant: it feeds each year without being sown, where spinach requires annual sowing and regular watering. A food memory found, almost intact, in the old gardens of mountain farms.
Olivier de Serres, Le Théâtre d'Agriculture et Mesnage des Champs, 1600 ; François Couplan, Le régal végétal, Sang de la Terre, 2009 ; Pierre Lieutaghi, Le livre des bonnes herbes, Actes Sud, 1996.
Before you forage
This plant is often gathered from the wild. Only pick what is abundant, never a protected species, and never uproot a whole plant (roots) without the landowner's permission. Rules vary by country and region, check locally.