CHENOPODIUM OPULIFOLIUM

Family:- AMARANTHACEAE

Common Name:- Grey goosefoot.

Synonyms:- Chenopodium album var. opulifolium, Chenopodium album

subsp. opulifolium, Vulvaria opulifolia.

Meaning:- Chenopodium (Gr) Goose-foot.

Opulifolium (L) Opulus-leaved, with leaves resembling the guelder

rose.

General description:- Herbaceous plant, Annual.

Stems:-

a) 60-150 cm.

b) erect, much-branched.

c) green to almost white, rarely red-tinged, more or less grey-farinose.

Leaves:-

a) at least the middle and lower rhombic-ovate, almost as wide as long, usually

with a short, prominent lobe on each side, otherwise entire or with several

teeth.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence:

a) a very grey-farinose panicle.

2) Sepals:

a) keeled.

Fruit:-

1) Seeds:

a) 1·1-1·5 mm diam.

b) obtusely keeled.

c) testa not pitted.

Key features:-

1) Most leaves more than 1.5 times as long as broad, 3-lobed.

2) Inflorescence variously covered with a meal-like powder (farinose), with small,

narrow leaves in the lower part.

Habitat:- Cultivated places, waste ground, waysides. 0-600 m.

Distribution:- Widespread across the Mediterranean region and C Europe. Limited

distribution on Crete, mainly around the C & E coastal areas.

Flowering time:- May-Oct.

Photos by:- Thomas Giannakis