FIG-LEAVED GOOSEFOOT

Chenopodium ficifolium

Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae]

month8jul month8july month8aug

status
statusZarchaeophyte
flower
flower8green
inner
inner8yellow
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ0
type
typeZspiked
type
typeZbell
stem
stem8round
stem
stem8ribbed
sex
sexZbisexual
sex
sexZfemale

3rd Aug 2008, a copse, arable field, Wootton Dunnage, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
It is a 'mealy' plant, with thick leaves growing to 1m high.


3rd Aug 2008, a copse, arable field, Wootton Dunnage, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The leaves are mainly 3-lobed (with perhaps smaller lobes or waverings in-between) - and with the central lobe narrow and between 2 to 3 times as long as the lateral lobes.


3rd Aug 2008, a copse, arable field, Wootton Dunnage, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


3rd Aug 2008, a copse, arable field, Wootton Dunnage, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone


18th July 2019, Greenfield, Lancs. Photo: © RWD


18th July 2019, Greenfield, Lancs. Photo: © RWD


18th July 2019, Greenfield, Lancs. Photo: © RWD


18th July 2019, Greenfield, Lancs. Photo: © RWD


18th July 2019, Greenfield, Lancs. Photo: © RWD
The tepals of the 'flowers' are only vaguely keeled on the underside.

The outer coat of the seed (if one can be seen here?) have deep conspicuous pits arranged in roughly radial rows and are also slightly elongated. The whole plant is covered in tiny paler flecks which look a bit like sand-grains on the surface of most, if not all, of the plant.


Easily confused with : many other similar Chenopodiums, but hopefully distinct enough to be delineated.

It is an Archaeophyte and is found in arable fields and waste grounds and mainly seen in the Channel Islands, Southern and Eastern England and South Wales. Your Author hopes the specimen he came across in Greenfield, Lancashire is indeed of Fig-leaved Goosefoot, but is not 100% sure. Iy was near a railway line, so perhaps it arrived by train on the midnight express :-)


  Chenopodium ficifolium  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Amaranthaceae  

Distribution
 family8Goosefoot family8Amaranthaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Chenopodium
Chenopodium
(Goosefoots)

FIG-LEAVED GOOSEFOOT

Chenopodium ficifolium

Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae]