![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Chenopodium
2010-Jun-09, Wednesday 11:34 amI've written about weeds before, but today's post is specifically about the amazing goosefoot plants. Their genus is Chenopodium, a word derived from the Greek words for goose (chen) and foot (pous). Their leaves have a triangular and jagged shape reminiscent of a goose's webbed foot.
I discovered yesterday that they might be my new favorite genus of plants. I was going out to the garden to do some weeding when I noticed something odd about this year's crop of weeds. Something was different about them. I've learned not to pluck when there's doubt. I've killed too many corn and rice plants while trying to weed out the "bad" grass from the garden.
I remembered that this particular area is where I planted quinoa seeds, so I went indoors to google images of these plants. Lo and behold, I discovered something remarkable.
My "weeds" were actually quinoa plants. Moreover, my other "weeds" were a cousin species to quinoa and were also perfectly edible! Quinoa is the species Chenopodium quinoa, and lamb's quarter is the species Chenopodium album. Here's a picture of both from my garden, young leaves and full leaves.
Lamb's quarter is on the left. The young leaves are more elongated, and the stem has a purple tint to it. The full leaves take on a silvery sheen.
Quinoa is on the right. The young leaves are more silvery, and it lacks the purple tint. The full leaves go plain green, dropping the silvery sheen that they had earlier.
I ate both of those full leaves. Lamb's quarter seems a bit more plain. Quinoa was very nice. The leaves are thicker like spinach, making for a more satisfying bite, and they had a stronger earthy flavor to them. I can imagine eating them in a salad without any dressing at all. Apparently both of them are powerhouses of vitamins, matching spinach for their nutritious quality.
Those are some images of the whole plants. Lamb's quarter is on the left. There's a group of them taking over the area near my truck, then a photo of one plant close up. Quinoa is on the right. The group is taking over one section of my garden, then a photo of some plants close up.
But that's not all!
I discovered that this genus is the same one that includes my beloved Strawberry Spinach (Chenopodium capitatum, pictured on the left from my garden in 2008). Is there anything that the goosefoot can't do? It has edible leaves, stalks, seeds, and even berries!
Related to Chenopodium are spinach, beets, and chard. These plants are in good company.
Seriously, though, there's no excuse for going hungry in Minnesota during the summer. Lamb's quarter grows wild all over the place in copious quantities. It's food!
Pluck a leaf and taste it yourself. :)
I discovered yesterday that they might be my new favorite genus of plants. I was going out to the garden to do some weeding when I noticed something odd about this year's crop of weeds. Something was different about them. I've learned not to pluck when there's doubt. I've killed too many corn and rice plants while trying to weed out the "bad" grass from the garden.
I remembered that this particular area is where I planted quinoa seeds, so I went indoors to google images of these plants. Lo and behold, I discovered something remarkable.My "weeds" were actually quinoa plants. Moreover, my other "weeds" were a cousin species to quinoa and were also perfectly edible! Quinoa is the species Chenopodium quinoa, and lamb's quarter is the species Chenopodium album. Here's a picture of both from my garden, young leaves and full leaves.
Lamb's quarter is on the left. The young leaves are more elongated, and the stem has a purple tint to it. The full leaves take on a silvery sheen.
Quinoa is on the right. The young leaves are more silvery, and it lacks the purple tint. The full leaves go plain green, dropping the silvery sheen that they had earlier.
I ate both of those full leaves. Lamb's quarter seems a bit more plain. Quinoa was very nice. The leaves are thicker like spinach, making for a more satisfying bite, and they had a stronger earthy flavor to them. I can imagine eating them in a salad without any dressing at all. Apparently both of them are powerhouses of vitamins, matching spinach for their nutritious quality.
Those are some images of the whole plants. Lamb's quarter is on the left. There's a group of them taking over the area near my truck, then a photo of one plant close up. Quinoa is on the right. The group is taking over one section of my garden, then a photo of some plants close up.But that's not all!
I discovered that this genus is the same one that includes my beloved Strawberry Spinach (Chenopodium capitatum, pictured on the left from my garden in 2008). Is there anything that the goosefoot can't do? It has edible leaves, stalks, seeds, and even berries!
Related to Chenopodium are spinach, beets, and chard. These plants are in good company.
Seriously, though, there's no excuse for going hungry in Minnesota during the summer. Lamb's quarter grows wild all over the place in copious quantities. It's food!
Pluck a leaf and taste it yourself. :)