Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) Overview: A widespread annual introduced from Europe with a long history of both human use and being weedy. It is an upright, multi-branched plant that generally reaches 2-4 feet tall but can get even taller. It has a short taproot and grooved stems that are blue-green in color, sometimes with red-purple blotching (especially near branch and leaf attachments). It generally has a broad, pyramidal shape, and its stems and leaves can be covered in fine, white hairs. Where You'll Find It: It prefers nutrient-rich soils but can tolerate a variety of conditions, including drought and compaction. It is commonly found in gardens, flower beds, along roads and fence lines, in tree pits and vacant lots, and emerging from cracks in the pavement. It is a sun-loving plant but can tolerate part shade. Leaves: Leaf margins are wavy or irregularly toothed.

Leaves are triangle-, diamond-, or lance-shaped, and are green to blue-green above and mealy, white below. They are alternately arranged on the stem and range in size, measuring up to 4 inches long. Smaller leaves tend to have fewer teeth or no teeth at all and are often covered in a white, mealy coating. Flowers/Fruit: The wind-pollinated flowers have no petals and are miniscule. They are densely packed into spike-like clusters and occur at the terminal ends of stems and on short stalks in the axils of leaves. They are mealy, white and blend in. Tens of thousands of tiny, shiny black seeds are produced by each plant and can remain viable in the soil for decades. Season: Flowering from late spring to late summer/early fall Other Names: Fat hen, white goosefoot, wild spinach Compare: Netseed lambsquarters (Chenopodium berlandieri) is native to North America and occurs in the Pacific Northwest.

It looks almost identical to common lambsquarters and can be difficult to distinguish. Its seeds are textured and lighter in color, and its foliage is typically less mealy. Strawberry blite (Blitum capitatum) is a less common, introduced plant that can be mistaken for lambsquarters, but its strawberry-colored flowers easily set it apart. Getting Rid of It! Lambsquarters is easy to pull, dig, or hoe out. Getting to it early will help prevent plants from reseeding, which is essential for such a prolific seeder that is so persistent in the soil seed bank. Soil solarization can help reduce the number of seeds in the seed bank, and mulching will help prevent seeds from germinating. What's It Good For? If you can't get rid of it, eat it. Lambsquarters has edible shoots, leaves, and seeds, and is known for being a nutritious and highly palatable weed, among other ethnobotanical uses.

Its seeds are also consumed by birds.