1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Orach

ORACH, or Mountain Spinach, known botanically as Atriplex hortensis, a tall-growing hardy annual, whose leaves, though coarsely flavoured, are used as a substitute for spinach, and to correct the acidity of sorrel. The white and the green are the most desirable varieties. The plant should be grown quickly in rich soil. It may be sown in rows 2 ft. apart, and about the same distance in the row, about March, and for succession again in June. If needful, water must be freely given, so as to maintain a rapid growth. A variety, A. hortensis var. rubra, commonly called red mountain spinach, is a hardy annual 3 to 4 ft. high with fine ornamental foliage.