SPERMATOPHYTA— CHENOPODIACEAE 



427 



Seed with utricle; embryo coiled; calyx not horizontally winged 



1. Chenopodium. 



Chenopodium L. Pigweed. Goosefoot. Lamb's quarter 



Annual or perennial herbs usually covered with a white mealy substance; 

 flowers inconspicuous, in sessile, small clusters, collected in spikes or panicles, 

 perfect; calyx S-, rarely 4-parted or lobed; stamens generally 5; styles 2, rarely 

 3; ovary 1-celled, becoming a 1-seeded, thin utricle; embryo coiled around the 

 mealy endosperm. 



A small genus of about 60 species of wide distribution in saline soil, around 

 dwellings and in manured soil. Several species like the common pigweed (C 

 album), the Australian spinach (C. auricomum), and the English Good King 

 Henry (C. Bonus-Henricus), are used as a substitute for spinach. The quinoa 

 (C. Quinoa) is an annual, native to Peru, which produces its flowers in dense, 

 erect panicles. It is cultivated in Chili and Peru for its seeds, which are said 

 to be very strengthening. It was the principal meal food of the Peruvians be- 



Fig. 204. Good King-Henry (Chenopodium 

 Bonus-Henricus). Used as a substitute for 

 spinach. (From The American Agriculturist) 



