Chaya / Maya Tree Spinach - Cnidoscolus chayamansa

Chaya is a mainstay perennial greens species food good reason - one of the most nutrient dense greens, and is highly pest and drought resistant. If there is a true survival food, Chaya certainly is one of them. 

Native to Mexico and Central America, this species has a long history of human utilization, will naturally take a tree form but coppicing to maintain an easy to harvest height is preferred. Large trees can also be a major pollinator attractor as mature plants will flower profusely throughout the year and are much appreciated by longwing butterflies in particular. Full sun is preferred and after establishment this species rarely or never needs to be watered or fertilized. 

Note: this species high pest resilience to its milky sap containing hydrocyanic acid which is denatured easily by boiling harvested leaves for a few minutes and stinging hairs on some varieties- ours has minimal to none of these hairs. For both these reasons its suggested to wear gloves when pruning or handling this species or raw leaves.