Chenopodium

Chenopodium is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoot, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classification systems, notably the widely used Cronquist system, separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but this leaves the rest of the Amaranthaceae polyphyletic. However, among the Amaranthaceae, the genus Chenopodium is the namesake member of the subfamily Chenopodioideae.

Description

The species of Chenopodium are annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or small trees. They generally rely on alkaline soil. They are nonaromatic, but sometimes fetid. The young stems and leaves are often densely covered by vesicular globose hairs, thus looking farinose. Characteristically, these trichomes persist, collapsing later and becoming cup-shaped.
The branched stems grow erect, ascending, prostrate or scrambling. Lateral branches are alternate. The alternate or opposite leaves are petiolate. Their thin or slightly fleshy leaf blade is linear, rhombic or triangular-hastate, with entire or dentate or lobed margins.
Inflorescences are standing terminal and lateral. They consist of spicately or paniculately arranged glomerules of flowers. Plants are monoecious. In monoecious plants flowers are dimorphic or pistillate. Flowers consist of 5 perianth segments connate, basally or close to the middle, usually membranous margined and with a roundish to keeled back; almost always 5 stamens, and one ovary with 2 stigmas.
In fruit, perianth segments become sometimes coloured, but mostly keep unchanged, somewhat closing over or spreading from the fruit. The pericarp is membranous or sometimes succulent, adherent to or loosely covering the seed. The horizontally oriented seeds are depressed-globular to lenticular, with rounded to subacute margin. The black seed coat is almost smooth to finely striate, rugulose or pitted.

Taxonomy

The genus Chenopodium was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Type species is Chenopodium album. This generic name is derived from the particular shape of the leaf, which is similar to a goose's foot: from Greek χήν, "goose" and πούς, "foot" or , "little foot".
In its traditional circumscription, Chenopodium comprised about 170 species. Phylogenetic research revealed, that the genus was highly polyphyletic and did not reflect how species were naturally related. Therefore, a new classification was necessary. Mosyakin & Clemants separated the glandular species as genus Dysphania and Teloxys in tribe Dysphanieae. Fuentes-Bazan et al. separated many species to genera Blitum, Chenopodiastrum, Lipandra, and Oxybasis. They included Rhagodia and Einadia in Chenopodium.

Species

132 species are currently accepted.

Chenopodium acerifolium
Chenopodium aciculare
Chenopodium acuminatum Willd.
Chenopodium adpressifolium
Chenopodium albescens
Chenopodium album - white goosefoot, nickel greens, dungweed, bathua, chandali, chandaliya, fat hen, lamb's quarters, pigweed
* Chenopodium album var. album
Chenopodium allanii
Chenopodium atripliciforme
Chenopodium atrovirens - dark goosefoot, pinyon goosefoot
Chenopodium attenuatum
Chenopodium aureum - golden goosefoot
Chenopodium auricomiforme
Chenopodium auricomum - Queensland bluebush
Chenopodium ayare
Chenopodium baccatum
Chenopodium benthamii
Chenopodium berlandieri - pitseed goosefoot, southern huauzontle, lambsquarters
* Chenopodium berlandieri var. berlandieri - huauzontle, chia roja, quelit
Chenopodium betaceum
Chenopodium × binzianum
Chenopodium × bohemicum
Chenopodium × borbasii
Chenopodium brandegeeae - Brandegee's goosefoot
Chenopodium bryoniifolium Bunge – Korean goosefoot
Chenopodium candolleanum
Chenopodium carnosulum
Chenopodium chaldoranicum
Chenopodium cordobense
Chenopodium cornutum
Chenopodium × covillei
Chenopodium crusoeanum
Chenopodium cuneifolium
Chenopodium curvispicatum
Chenopodium cyanifolium
Chenopodium cycloides - sandhill goosefoot
Chenopodium × dadakovae
Chenopodium desertorum - desert goosefoot
Chenopodium desiccatum - narrowleaf goosefoot
Chenopodium detestans - New Zealand fish-guts plant
Chenopodium diversifolium
Chenopodium drummondii
Chenopodium eastwoodiae - Eastwood's goosefoot
Chenopodium eremaeum
Chenopodium erosum R.Br.
Chenopodium eustriatum
Chenopodium × fallax
Chenopodium ficifoliiforme
Chenopodium ficifolium - fig-leaved goosefoot, small goosefoot
Chenopodium flabellifolium - San Martin Island goosefoot, flabelliform goosefoot
Chenopodium foggii - Fogg's goosefoot
Chenopodium fremontii - Fremont's goosefoot
Chenopodium frutescens
Chenopodium × fursajevii
Chenopodium gaudichaudianum
Chenopodium giganteum D.Don - tree spinach, red quinoa, djulis
Chenopodium griseochlorinum
Chenopodium grubovii
Chenopodium × gruellii
Chenopodium harae
Chenopodium hastatifolium
Chenopodium × haywardiae
Chenopodium hederiforme
Chenopodium hians
Chenopodium hircinum
Chenopodium hoggarense
Chenopodium howellii - Howell's goosefoot
Chenopodium hubbardii
Chenopodium × humiliforme
Chenopodium iljinii
Chenopodium incanum - mealy goosefoot
Chenopodium incognitum
Chenopodium indicum
Chenopodium iranicum
Chenopodium × jedlickae
Chenopodium × jehlikii
Chenopodium karoi
Chenopodium khorasanica
Chenopodium lenticulare
Chenopodium × leptophylliforme
Chenopodium leptophyllum - narrowleaf goosefoot
Chenopodium × linciense
Chenopodium lineatum - Mono goosefoot
Chenopodium littoreum - coastal goosefoot
Chenopodium lobodontum
Chenopodium loureiroi
Chenopodium luteorubrum
Chenopodium luteum - yellow goosefoot
Chenopodium × mendelii
Chenopodium moquinianum
Chenopodium mucronatum
Chenopodium neomexicanum - New Mexico goosefoot
Chenopodium nesodendron
Chenopodium nevadense - Nevada goosefoot
Chenopodium nitens
Chenopodium nitrariaceum F.Muell. ex Benth. - nitre goosefoot
Chenopodium nitens - shiny goosefoot
Chenopodium novopokrovskyanum
Chenopodium nutans
Chenopodium oahuense - Āheahea
Chenopodium obscurum
Chenopodium opulifolium Schrad. ex W.D.J.Koch & Ziz - grey goosefoot
Chenopodium pallescens - pallid goosefoot
Chenopodium pallidicaule - kañiwa, "cañahua"
Chenopodium palmeri - Palmer's goosefoot
Chenopodium pamiricum
Chenopodium parabolicum
Chenopodium × paradoxum
Chenopodium parryi - Parry's goosefoot
Chenopodium perttii
Chenopodium petiolare
Chenopodium philippianum
Chenopodium phillipsianum
Chenopodium pilcomayense
Chenopodium × podperae
Chenopodium polygonoides
Chenopodium × praeacutum
Chenopodium pratericola Rydb. - pale goosefoot, desert goosefoot, narrowleaf goosefoot
Chenopodium preissii
Chenopodium × preissmannii
Chenopodium × pseudoleptophyllum
Chenopodium × pseudostriatum
Chenopodium pueblense
Chenopodium quinoa - quinoa
Chenopodium × reynieri
Chenopodium robertianum
Chenopodium ruiz-lealii
Chenopodium sanctae-clarae
Chenopodium sancti-ambrosii
Chenopodium sandersii - Sander's goosefoot
Chenopodium santoshei
Chenopodium scabricaule
Chenopodium simpsonii - Simpson's goosefoot
Chenopodium × smardae
Chenopodium sonorense - Sonoran goosefoot
Chenopodium sosnowskyi
Chenopodium spegazzinii
Chenopodium spinescens
Chenopodium standleyanum - Standley's goosefoot
Chenopodium stenophyllum
Chenopodium striatiforme
Chenopodium subficifolium
Chenopodium subglabrum - smooth arid goosefoot, smooth goosefoot
Chenopodium suecicum - green goosefoot
Chenopodium × thellungii
Chenopodium tonkinense
Chenopodium triandrum
Chenopodium × tridentinum
Chenopodium × trigonocarpum
Chenopodium trigonon
Chenopodium twisselmannii - Twisselmann's goosefoot, high meadow goosefoot
Chenopodium ulbrichii
Chenopodium ulicinum
Chenopodium × unarii
Chenopodium × variabile
Chenopodium vulvaria - stinking goosefoot, notchweed
Chenopodium wahlii - Wahl's goosefoot
Chenopodium watsonii - Watson's goosefoot
Chenopodium wilsonii
Chenopodium × zahnii
Chenopodium zerovii
''Chenopodium zoellneri''