Lambsquarters Chenopodium album
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- ken-oh-POH-dee-um AL-bum
- Description
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Lambsquarters is a highly adaptable and nutritious summer annual edible in the Amaranth family. Though it is a beautiful plant, it can be quite weedy. Pulling up seedlings before they set seed or mowing over plants before they produce seed are two management options.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Chenopodium
- Species:
- album
- Family:
- Amaranthaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Native Americans have made a flour from the dried seeds.
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eurasia
- Wildlife Value:
- While the flowers are wind-pollinated, the leaves are a food source for many caterpillars, beetles, and mammals.
- Play Value:
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Edibility:
- Seeds, leaves, shoots, and flowers can be edible to an extent. However, the seeds have saponins and oxalic acid so cook, steam, and/or freeze before consuming parts of this plant.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Edible
- Weed
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Multi-stemmed
- Pyramidal
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9a, 9b, 10b, 10a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- This plant has nearly rounded seeds (being black, green, or brown). Many seeds can come from just one of these plants.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- Pink
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Insignificant
- Spike
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- In (generally) terminal clusters, flowers can be very light green or pink spikes.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Pink
- White
- Leaf Feel:
- Soft
- Velvety
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Deltoid
- Lanceolate
- Linear
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Lobed
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- There are two types of leaves on this plant– oppositely arranged cotyledons and true, alternate leaves. They are 5" long , goose-shaped (though other shapes are possible too such as triangular, ovate, lanceolate, or even linear), and smooth-margined with some teeth along the edge or lobed. Leaves are green, sometimes with tints of pink, and a white mealy coating produced by tiny hairs on the leaves. The hairs are denser on the underside of the leaves, making it appear lighter in color. As the leaves mature, the white hairs become more sparse.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- As a seedling, part of the stem comes in light colors of green, red, purple, or tan and is smooth as well as striated (meaning there are lines on the stem).
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Design Feature:
- Mass Planting
- Small groups
- Problems:
- Weedy
