Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Chenopodium album, Lambsquarters

Lambsquarters Flowers are tiny, green; in clusters from axils on terminal ends of branches or stems, flowers may also be solitary in terminally branched spikes, small sepals with white margins. Chenopodium album Lambsquarters Leaves are green, alternate, usually leaves with long stems (as shown here) but shorter than the leaf blade; leaf shape extremely variable, the margins are irregularly dentate-sinuous or entire, farinose or powdery on the lower surface, dull green on the upper surface. Chenopodium album Lambsquarters is an annual forb that grows from 6 or 7 inches to almost 3 feet (.02 - 1m) in height. Plants in the United States bloom from June through October or November with fruiting in late summer-fall. Preferred elevations are from sea level to 6,000 feet (1,828 m) or more. Chenopodium album Lambsquarters is taxonomically a confusing plant. Some authorities describe 7 varieties, described above, however The Flora of North America (Flora) describes "small groups of species" (both European and North American) as possible synonyms of Chenopodium album. Chenopodium album Lambsquarters The genus "Chenopodium" is from the Greek word "chen" meaning goose and pous meaning foot or podion, "a little foot", a reference to the shape of the leaves in some species. The species epithet "album" means white. Chenopodium album

Scientific Name: Chenopodium album
Common Name: Lambsquarters

Also Called: Goosefoot, Fat-hen, Lamb’s-quarters, Manure Weed, Melde, Pigweed

Family: Chenopodiaceae, Goosefoot Family (now as sub-family Chenopodioideae in the Amaranthaceae Family).

Synonyms:

Status: Native? or naturalized?.

Duration: Annual

Size: 7 inches to 3 feet (5) (.02 - 1m)

Growth Form: Forb/herb; stems erect, often reddish or with a red streak, to spreading, branching variable across varieties, simple to many branches; stems and foliage slightly to densely farinose.

Leaves: Green, alternate, usually leaves with long stems (petioles) but shorter than the leaf blade; leaf shape ovate-lanceolate to rhombic-lanceolate or broadly oblong, margins irregularly dentate-sinuous or entire, farinose or powdery on the lower (abaxially) surface, dull green on the upper surface (adaxially).

Flower Color: Green; small flowers, usually in clusters from axils on terminal ends of branches or stems, flowers may also be solitary in terminally branched spikes, small sepals with white margins; fruits a utricle seeds many, germination periods both spring and fall, according to the Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California there are 2-seed types, both tiny, the larger seeds are brown while the smaller seeds are black.

Flowering Season: June through October; May to November in California; fruiting late summer-fall.

Elevation: Up to 6,000 feet (1,828 m)

Habitat Preferences: Disturbed areas, waste lands, lawns, gardens, agricultural fields, open habitats

Recorded Range: Chenopodium album is found throughout North America and scattered through Canada

North America & US County Distribution Map for Chenopodium album.

U.S. Weed Information: In North America Chenopodium album can be weedy or invasive according to the following authoritative sources: Weeds of Kentucky and adjacent states: a field guide, Weeds of the Northeast, Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, Southern Weed Science Society and Weeds of the United States and Canada. Plants included here may become weedy or invasive.

Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.

Wetland Indicator: In North America species has the following wetland designations: Alaska, FACU; Arid West, FACU; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, FACU; Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, FACU; Great Plains, FACU; Midwest, FACU; Northcentral & Northeast, FACU and the Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast, FACU.
FACU = Facultative Upland, usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands.

Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.

Genus Information: * Note genus information is for Chenopodium: In North America there are 43 species for Chenopodium. Worldwide, The Plant List includes 150 accepted species names and a further 394 scientific names of infraspecific rank for the genus.

In the Southwestern United States: Arizona has 17 species of Chenopodium, California has 27 species, Nevada has 19 species, New Mexico has 24 species, Texas has 18 species, Utah has 21 species. All data approximate and subject to revision.

There are 7 varieties in Chenopodium album;
Chenopodium album var. album, Lambsquarters, (Introduced, now through North America);
Chenopodium album var. candicans, (excluded)
Chenopodium album var. centrorubrum, (excluded)
Chenopodium album var. microphyllum, Lambsquarters; (DC, FL, MO);
Chenopodium album var. missouriense, Missouri Lambsquarters); (Native, southern 2 thirds of United States);
Chenopodium album var. stevensii, Stevens' Lambsquarters); (Native, CS, IL, MI, MN, ND, SD, WI, MB Canada);
Chenopodium album var. striatum, late flowering Goosefoot) (Native northern 2 thirds of United States; Introduced throughout Canada);.

Comments: Chenopodium album is taxonomically a confusing plant. Some authorities describe 7 varieties, described above, however The Flora of North America (Flora) describes "small groups of species" (both European and North American) as possible synonyms of Chenopodium album. The Flora considers this species (C. album) to be "among the most polymorphic plants" in the world and apparently too difficult to correctly describe with any accuracy. The plants are widely naturalized in many world-wide regions and the species now occurs almost everywhere in the world.

Lambsquarters is a fast growing, common summer plant considered a weed by many and cultivated as food by others. The seeds are readily eaten by small mammals and ground dwelling birds. According to Arizona Flora, plants in Arizona (and presumably the southwestern United States) are often confused with Chenopodium berlandieri.

In Southwest Desert Flora also see: Nettleleaf Goosefoot, Chenopodiastrum murale.

Importance to Wildlife
Lambsquarters provides food and habitat for a variety of small mammals, birds and insects.

Special Value to Native Bees, Butterflies and Insects
Lambsquarters, Chenopodium album is a host plant for the following butterfly caterpillars: - Find out more from Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
  • Western Pygmy-Blue, Brephidium exilis; Caterpillar Hosts: Adult Food: Flower nectar.
  • Common Sootywing, Pholisora catullus; Caterpillar Hosts: Adult Food: Flower nectar
  • Etymology:
    The genus "Chenopodium" is from the Greek word "chen" meaning goose and pous meaning foot or podion, "a little foot", a reference to the shape of the leaves in some species. The species epithet "album" means white.
    The genus Chenopodium was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

    Ethnobotany
    Lambsquarters has been used for food, as a dietary aid, for food substitution food, vegetable and several other uses by United States indigenous peoples.
  • Alaska Native Food, Dietary Aid, Substitution Food, Vegetable, Fresh leaves, properly cooked, furnished significant amounts of vitamins C and A. Young, tender leaves and stems cooked in a small amount of boiling water and eaten. Young plants cooked as greens.
  • Apache, Chiricahua & Mescalero Food, Unspecified, Eaten without preparation or cooked with green chile and meat or animal bones.
  • Carrier Drug, Blood Medicine. Decoction of plant taken to improve the blood.
  • Cherokee Drug, Dietary Aid, Food, Spice. Cooked salad greens eaten to 'keep healthy.' Young growth mixed with mustard leaves, morning glory leaves or potato leaves for flavoring. Young growth parboiled, fried and eaten. Leaves mixed with other leaves, parboiled and cooked in grease until tender.
  • Cree, Woodlands Drug, Antirheumatic (External/Internal). Decoction of plant used as wash for painful limbs.
  • Dakota Food, Soup, Unspecified. Young, tender plant cooked as pottage. Young plants boiled for food.
  • Eskimo, Inupiat Drug, Carminative, Dried Food, Frozen Food, Vegetable. Leaves and stems cooked with beans to reduce the intestinal gas from eating the beans. Leaves and stems dried for future use. Leaves and stems frozen for future use. Leaves and stems eaten raw or cooked as hot greens with beans. Leaves and stems eaten raw or cooked as hot greens with beans.
  • Hopi Food, Porridge, Unspecified. Ground seeds used to make mush. Boiled and eaten with other foods. Leaves boiled and eaten with fat. Leaves cooked with meat.
  • Iroquois Drug, Antidiarrheal, Burn Dressing, Gynecological Aid, Vegetable. Cold infusion of whole plant taken for diarrhea. Compound used as salve on burns. Compound decoction used as wash and applied as poultice when bothered by milk flow. Compound decoction used as wash and applied as Cooked and seasoned with salt, pepper or butter. Cooked and seasoned with salt, pepper or butter.
  • Mendocino Indian Drug, Gastrointestinal Aid, Vegetable. Leaves used for stomachaches. Vegetable, Young leaves boiled and eaten as greens.
  • Navajo Drug, Dietary Aid, Dried Food, Staple, Vegetable. Plant used as a nutrient. Seeds dried and used like corn. Seeds ground and eaten as a nutrient. Young, tender plants eaten raw, boiled as herbs alone or with other foods.
  • Navajo, Ramah Drug, Antidote, Food, Bread and Cake and Winter Food. Stem, three inches long, made into snake figurine for snake infection. Seeds winnowed, ground with maize, made into bread and used as a ceremonial food in Nightway. Seeds stored for winter use.
  • See complete listing of ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.

    Date Profile Completed: 09/06/2019
    References:
    Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, Arizona Flora, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
    U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search; - (accessed 09/01/2019)
    https://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html
    The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 09/01/2019).
    http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/A/Amaranthaceae/Chenopodium/
    Steven E. Clemants & Sergei L. Mosyakin, FNA | Family List | FNA Vol. 4 | Chenopodiaceae | 32. Chenopodium album Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 219. 1753.; Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 16+ vols. New York and Oxford.
    Steven E. Clemants & Nuri Benet-Pierce 2012, Chenopodium album, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora,
    http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=19131, accessed on September 04, 2019.
    University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources; Weed Gallery; Integrated Pest Management Program; Goosefoot Family: Chenopodiaceae; Nettleleaf goosefoot (Chenopodium murale) (accessed 09/05/2019).
    http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/lambsquarters.html
    Wikipedia contributors, 'Chenopodium album', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 August 2019, 14:52 UTC,
    https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chenopodium_album&oldid=912889870 [accessed 4 September 2019]
    Native Plant Information Network, NPIN (2013). Published on the Internet http://www.wildflower.org/plants/ (accessed 09/05/2019). Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.
    https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=chal7
    Michael Charters, California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations - A Dictionary of Botanical and Biographical Etymology Compiled by Michael L. Charters - (accessed 09/03/2019) - Excellent site.
    http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageCA-CH.html
    http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/pageAB-AM.html
    SEINet synonyms, scientific names, geographic locations, general information, (accessed 09/01/2019).
    http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=152
    Plants For A Future, earth, plants, people: A resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants. (accessed 09/05/2019).
    https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Chenopodium+album