Okinawa Spinach is a dense, low growing plant to 30 inch high. It can be eaten as a salad, stir-fried, or used as you would use spinach in a range of recipes. The leaves have a nutty flavor with a unique hint of pine and are crisp in texture when raw. When cooked, they have a sticky texture and should not be overcooked. Easily the most low maintenance perennial leaf vegetable; it is a hardy plant and relatively pest-free. Thriving in warm, wet conditions Okinawa Spinach does best in subtropical and tropical areas; it is sensitive to frost. An attractive plant with shiny leaves that are green on top and purple underneath; the flowers are very small and orange. It grows best in full sun to partial shade. It needs ample water, rich, fertile well-drained soil that is kept mulched and prefers a pH of between 6.1 and 6.5.
USDA Zones 8-11