Chenopodium album: Difference between revisions

<languages />

<translate>

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the goosefoot family}}

{{Speciesbox

}}

'''''Chenopodium album''''' is a fast-growing [[annual plant]] in the [[flowering plant]] family [[Amaranthaceae]]. 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 several are also applied to other species of the genus ''[[Chenopodium]]'', for which reason it is often distinguished as '''white goosefoot'''.

==Description==

[[File:Chenopodium albium (wild spinach), wild field, Warsaw, Poland.jpg|thumb|Wild spinach]]

It tends to grow upright at first, reaching heights of {{convert|10–150|cm|frac=2}}, rarely to 3 m); it then typically becomes recumbent after flowering (due to the weight of the foliage and seeds) unless supported by other plants. The [[leaves]] are alternate and varied in appearance. The first leaves, near the base of the plant, are toothed and roughly diamond-shaped, 3–7&nbsp;cm long and 3–6&nbsp;cm broad. The leaves on the upper part of the flowering stems are entire and lanceolate-rhomboid, 1–5&nbsp;cm long and 0.4–2&nbsp;cm broad; they are waxy-coated, unwettable and mealy in appearance, with a whitish coat on the underside. The small [[flower]]s are radially symmetrical and grow in small cymes on a dense branched [[inflorescence]] 10–40&nbsp;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.

===Similar species===

Poisonous [[black nightshade]] looks similar to this species when young, but the leaves of ''C.&nbsp;album'' have a white mealy texture and its axils have a red streak.

== Taxonomy ==

''Chenopodium album'' has a complex [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] and has been divided into numerous microspecies, subspecies and varieties, but it is difficult to differentiate between them. The following varieties are accepted by ''[[Plants of the World Online]]'':

* ''Chenopodium album'' var. ''reticulatum'' {{small|(Aellen) Uotila}} (synonym ''Chenopodium reticulatum'' {{small|Aellen}}) – France and Great Britain

== Distribution and habitat ==

Its native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but includes most of [[Europe]], from where [[Carl Linnaeus]] described the species in 1753. Plants native to eastern Asia are included under ''C. album'', but often differ from European specimens. According to ''[[Plants of the World Online]]'', the species' natural distribution includes temperate Eurasia from western Europe to China and the Russian Far East, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, Ethiopia, and the eastern and central United States.

It is widely naturalized elsewhere, such as in [[Africa]], [[Australasia]], North America, and [[Oceania]], and now occurs almost everywhere (except [[Antarctica]]) in soils rich in [[nitrogen]], especially on wasteland.

===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, while in [[Australia]] it is naturalised in all states and regarded as an [[environmental weed]] in [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[Western Australia]] and the [[Northern Territory]]. While var. ''album'' is considered invasive in some regions of the U.S., var. ''missouriense'' is native.

===Potential impact on conventional crops===

It is one of the more robust and competitive weeds, exceptionally capable of colonizing new areas. It may produce up to 50 million seeds per hectare, its seeds remain viable 30 to 40 years in the soil, and it exhibits high phenotype plasticity, modifying its growth form for the conditions it is in. 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]] may contribute to [[hay fever]]-like [[allergies]].

===Pest control===

''Chenopodium album'' is vulnerable to [[leaf miner]]s, 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]], an insect which transmits curly top virus to [[beet]] crops.

==Uses==

{{nutritionalvalue

}}

===Nutrition===

Raw lamb's quarters are 84% water, 7% carbohydrates, 4% protein, and 1% fat. In a 100 gram reference amount, lamb's quarters provide 43 kilocalories, and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (96% DV), vitamin A (73% DV), riboflavin (37% DV), vitamin B6 (21% DV), manganese (37% DV), and calcium (31% DV), with several other dietary minerals in lesser amounts.

===Culinary uses===

[[File:Rice and chenopodium album leaf curry with potatoes and onions40.JPG|thumb|[[Rice]] and ''C.&nbsp;album'' leaf [[curry]] with onions and potatoes]]

The young shoots may be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are preferably cooked.

The flower buds and flowers can also be eaten cooked. Each plant produces tens of thousands of black [[seed]]s. [[Quinoa]], a closely related species, is grown specifically for its seeds. The [[Zuni people]] cook the young plants' greens.

[[Archaeologist]]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 [[Denmark|Danish]] [[bog body|bog bodies]].

In India, the plant is called ''bathua'' and is 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]]'', [[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#Vegetable raitas|raita]] (yogurt accompaniment) made with bathua, is commonly eaten in winters.

In [[Nepal]], it is known as ''bethe'' or ''bethu''. It is used to make a dish known as ''saag''. The leaves are stir-fried with spices, chilli and diced garlic. A fermented dish known as ''[[masaura]]'' is also made by dipping the leaves in a lentil batter with spices and then drying them in sun for some days. The fermented ''masaura'' can be made into a curry and served with rice.

===Animal feed===

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

===Construction===

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

===Ayurveda===

In [[Ayurveda]] [[traditional medicine]], bathua is thought to be useful for treating various diseases, although there is no [[evidence-based medicine|clinical evidence]] such uses are safe or effective.

==Gallery==

<gallery>

</gallery>

==External links==

*{{Commons-inline|Chenopodium album}}

*{{Wikispecies-inline|Chenopodium album}}

[[Category:Chenopodium|album]]

[[Category:Flora of Europe]]