Goose-foot, Lambs Quarter, Pigweed, Wild Spinach

Lambs Quarter - Chenopodium album

Lambs Quarter – Chenopodium album Goosefoot, Pigweed, Lambs Quarter, wild spinach-

What is your name?

Are you a despicable weed, or a delicious veggie?

You were a weed, last summer, But, now that I know you,I put you near the top of the list for wild edible plants. You are widespread, almost friendly as you are often found where people are living. You are a rapid grower, easy to identify and outstandingly nutritious. Nearly all parts of the plant are usable during one season or another. The flavour is very enjoyable.
Chenopodium comes from the Greek chen meaning "goose" and podos, meaning "foot This refers to the leaf shape of some species. Album means "white" and is used to describe the colour of the leaf under surface.

Note: Although this plant is sometimes called pigweed, a name also often applied to an entirely different plant--green amaranth. Partially because we live in such close proximity to The United States of The Americas, It is not unusual for a single common name to be attached to two very different plants, and is a good example of the of the plants's botanical name to ensure that it is exactly the plant you think you are talking about
You’re a veggie and You’re a medicine.

Isn't it interesting

How you change,
When what’s in my head
decides to listen.

This European immigrant is an odourless, branching, annual weed, with stalked, opposite, simple leaves which are clammy-feeling, and have a whitish coating underneath. The first leaves are diamond-shaped and toothed toward the point. The later leaves are narrow and toothless. Now this always confused me. I think Lambs Quarter when it’s young, looks nothing like the older plant. Even after I've come to know this, it still baffles me!

Lamb’s-quarters grows everywhere, even through the cracks in side walks. It generally grows from 1 to 3 feet tall, under favourable conditions. If you listen, you can here these ‘children’ screaming-

“Eat me! Eat me! Take me home and Eat me- please!”

This is one of those weeds that just might become a favorite veggie for you. It’s a cousin to spinach and the young leaves can be eaten as greens or when freshly picked, added to salads.

My friend says you haven’t tasted anything until you've eaten Lambs Quarter leaves fried in hot bacon grease! I’ll try this for sure next summer. He never lies, so I know it’ll be a real treat!

I've also heard that the seeds can be ground into a meal for cakes, gruel or boiled into a cereal. Or, they can be sprouted and used in a stir fry meal. (This weed is a relative of quinoa, a grain, which is eaten mostly in Chili and Peru, but now available here also.)

Medicinally, Lamb’s-quarters has been used to treat nutritional deficiencies, such as scurvy, as it’s very high in vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus and is also a good source of protein, trace minerals, the B vitamins- thiamine, riboflavin and niacin, iron, and fibre.

Collect the young tender plants whole, and then when the stems become tough, collect just the leaves and tender tips. Do not collect Lamb’s-quarters growing in artificially fertilized or treated soils. It will absorb pesticides from the soil and is also prone to accumulate high levels of nitrates. Just go ‘harvest’ it in the wild, or gather some seeds from the wild and plant them in your garden. That’s the safest way and you’ll know exactly what you’re getting in your food.

Medicinally, Lambs Quarter is said to have sedative and refrigerant properties- people have used the poulticed leaves to soothe burns.

The leaves are also used for stomach aches and diarrhea in tea form. Traditionally, it has been used internally for roundworms, hook worms, small tapeworms, amebic dysentery, asthma and excess mucus. Externally, it can also be used to treat athlete’s foot and insect bites.

This weed comes with a caution:
Not to be given to pregnant women, as excess could cause dizziness and vomiting.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.