''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing weedy

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

in the genus '' Chenopodium''. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-hen, though the latter two are also applied to other species of the genus ''Chenopodium'', for which reason it is often distinguished as white goosefoot.BSBI
Database of names (xls file)
''Chenopodium album'' is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India, Nepal, and Pakistan as a food crop known as ''bathua''.

Distribution

Its native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but includes most of Europe,Flora Europaea
''Chenopodium album''
/ref> from where Linnaeus described the species in 1753.Linnaeus, C. (1753). ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

'' 1: 219
Facsimile
Plants native in eastern Asia are included under ''C. album'', but often differ from European specimens.Flora of China
''Chenopodium album''
/ref> It is widely naturalised elsewhere, e.g. Africa,African Flowering Plants Database
''Chenopodium album''
Australasia,Australian Plant Name Index
''Chenopodium album''
/ref>

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

,Flora of North America
''Chenopodium album''
/ref> and Oceania,Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk
''Chenopodium album''
/ref> and now occurs almost everywhere (except Antarctica) in soils rich in nitrogen, especially on wasteland.

Description

It tends to grow upright at first, reaching heights of 10–150 cm (rarely to 3 m), but typically becomes recumbent after flowering (due to the weight of the foliage and seeds) unless supported by other plants. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternate and varied in appearance. The first leaves, near the base of the plant, are toothed and roughly diamond-shaped, 3–7 cm long and 3–6 cm broad. The leaves on the upper part of the flowering stems are entire and lanceolate-rhomboid, 1–5 cm long and 0.4–2 cm broad; they are waxy-coated, unwettable and mealy in appearance, with a whitish coat on the underside. The small flowers are radially symmetrical and grow in small cymes on a dense branched inflorescence 10–40 cm long. Further, the flowers are bisexual and female, with five tepals which are mealy on outer surface, and shortly united at the base. There are five stamens.

Taxonomy

''Chenopodium album'' has a very complex taxonomy and has been divided in numerous microspecies, subspecies and varieties, but it is difficult to differentiate between them. The following infraspecific taxa are accepted by the ''Flora Europaea'': * ''Chenopodium album'' subsp. ''album'' * ''Chenopodium album'' subsp. ''striatum'' (Krašan) Murr * ''Chenopodium album'' var. ''reticulatum'' (Aellen) Uotila Published names and

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

include ''C. album'' var. ''microphyllum'', ''C. album'' var. ''stevensii'', ''C. acerifolium, C. centrorubrum, C. giganteum, C. jenissejense, C. lanceolatum, C. pedunculare'' and ''C. probstii''. It also hybridises readily with several other ''Chenopodium'' species, including '' C. berlandieri, C. ficifolium, C. opulifolium, C. strictum'' and ''C. suecicum''.

Cultivation

Regions

The species are cultivated as a grain or vegetable crop (such as in lieu of spinach), as well as animal feed in Asia and Africa, whereas in Europe and North America, it is commonly regarded as a weed in places such as potato fields,Grubben, G. J. H., & Denton, O. A. (2004). ''Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables''. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen. while in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

it is naturalised in all states and regarded as an

environmental weed An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Potential impact on conventional crops

It is one of the more robust and competitive weeds, capable of producing crop losses of up to 13% in

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, 25% in

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

, and 48% in

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

s at an average plant distribution. It may be controlled by dark tillage, rotary hoeing, or flaming when the plants are small. Crop rotation of small grains will suppress an infestation. It is easily controlled with a number of pre-emergence herbicides. Its

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

may contribute to

hay fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...

-like allergies.

Pest control

''Chenopodium album'' is vulnerable to leaf miners, making it a useful trap crop as a companion plant. Growing near other plants, it attracts leaf miners which might otherwise have attacked the crop to be protected. It is a host plant for the

beet leafhopper The beet leafhopper (''Circulifer tenellus''), also sometimes known as ''Neoaliturus tenellus'', is a species of leafhopper which belongs to the family Cicadellidae in the order Hemiptera. Morphology A lot of morphological diversity has be ...

, an insect which transmits curly top virus to beet crops.

Uses and consumption

Nutrition

Raw lamb's quarters are 84% water, 7% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, lamb's quarters provide 43

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

s, and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, vitamin C (96% DV), vitamin A (73% DV),

riboflavin Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...

(37% DV), vitamin B6 (21% DV), manganese (37% DV), and calcium (31% DV), with several other dietary minerals in lesser amounts (table).

Culinary use

Rice and chenopodium album leaf curry with potatoes and onions40

The leaves and young shoots may be eaten raw or cooked as a leaf vegetable, but should be eaten in moderation due to high levels of

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early inve ...

. The flower buds and flowers can also be eaten cooked. Each plant produces tens of thousands of black seeds. Quinoa, a closely related species, is grown specifically for its seeds.PROTAbase
''Chenopodium album''
The

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Lit ...

cook the young plants' greens.

Archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s analysing carbonized plant remains found in storage pits and ovens at Iron Age, Viking Age, and Roman sites in Europe have found its seeds mixed with conventional grains and even inside the stomachs of Danish bog bodies. In India, the plant is called ''bathua'' and found abundantly in the winter season. The leaves and young shoots of this plant are used in dishes such as soups, curries, and paratha-stuffed breads, common in North India. The seeds or grains are used in '' phambra'' or '' laafi'', gruel-type dishes in Himachal Pradesh, and in mildly alcoholic fermented beverages such as'' soora'' and '' ghanti''. In Haryana state, the ''"bathue ka raita"'' i.e. the raita (yogurt dip) made with bathua, is very popular in winters. Bathua seeds also double up for rice and dal. Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have once relied on bathua seeds to feed his troops during lean times. In Nepal, it is known as ''bethe'' or ''bethu''. It is used to make dish known as ''saag''. The leaves are stir fried with spices, chilly and diced garlic. A fermented dish known as '' masaura'' is also made by dipping the leaves in a lentil batter with spices and then dried in sun for some days. The fermented ''masaura'' can be made into a curry and served with rice. It is also used to make an instant salad-style-achaar and chutneys.

Animal feed

As some of the common names suggest, it is also used as feed (both the leaves and the seeds) for chickens and other poultry.

Construction

The juice of this plant is a potent ingredient for a mixture of wall plaster, according to the Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra, which is a Sanskrit treatise dealing with Śilpaśāstra (Hindu science of art and construction).

Ayurveda

In Ayurveda traditional medicine, bathua is thought to be useful for treating various diseases,L. D. Kapoor, 1989
CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants
CRC Press, Boston, pp. 113. although there is no clinical evidence such uses are safe or effective.

Gallery

File:Melganzenvoet bloemen Chenopodium album.jpg, Close-up of flower and flower bud File:6H-Lambs-quarter.jpg, Young ''Chenopodium album'' File:Lamb's Quarter.jpeg, Domestic Lamb's Quarter - Cecil County, MD - November 2015

References

Footnotes Citations

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q158610 album Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Flora of tropical Asia Flora of North Africa Edible nuts and seeds Leaf vegetables Plants described in 1753 Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional African medicine Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus