Lamb's quarter, lambsquarters, and similar terms refer to any of various edible species of herbaceous plants otherwise known by the common names

goosefoot ''Chenopodium'' is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classific ...

or pigweed. There are numerous variations, with or without hyphens and apostrophes, using one word or two, and singular or plural. As a rule, the British English spelling uses two terms with or without hyphen though usually with an apostrophe, while the American English spelling uses one word. * In Europe, the term usually refers to ''

Chenopodium album ''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing weedy annual plant 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-h ...

'' (white goosefoot). * In North America, the term usually refers to ''

Chenopodium berlandieri ''Chenopodium berlandieri'', also known by the common names pitseed goosefoot, lamb's quarters (or lambsquarters), and ''huauzontle'' (Nahuatl) is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Amaranthaceae. The species is widespread in North Ameri ...

'' (pitseed goosefoot). The name "lambsquarters" is thought to derive from the name of the English harvest festival Lammas quarter. This festival was associated both with sacrificial lambs and with the vegetable ''Chenopodium album''.http://wssa.net/wp-content/themes/WSSA/WorldOfWeeds/lambsquarters.html

References

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