GOOSEFOOT FAMILY 



73 



I. SPINACIA L. 



Herbs. Flowers dioecious, in close axillary clusters. Stami- 

 nate flowers 3-5-sepaled, with 4 or 5 projecting stamens ; pis- 

 tillate, flowers with a tubular 2-toothed or 4-toothed calyx. 



1. S. oleracea Mill. Spkach. A soft annual or biennial herb. 

 Leaves triangular, ovate, or halberd-shaped, petioled. Cultivated 

 from Asia as a pot herb. 



U. CHENOPODIUM L. 



Annual or perennial herbs. Stems erect or spreading. 

 Leaves alternate, usually white-mealy. Flowers small, green- 

 ish, in panicled spikes. Calyx 3-5-parted, the lobes often 

 slightly fleshy and keeled. Stamens 6 ; filaments thread- 

 shaped. Styles 2-3, distinct or united at the base. Seed 

 lens-shaped.* 



1. C. Botrys L. Jerusalem Oak. A low, spreading plant, covered 

 with sticky down. Leaves with slender petioles, oblong, sinnately 



B C 



Fig. 15. Pigweed [Chenopodium album) 

 A, B, flower; C, fruit. (All about seven times natural size) 



lobed or the lobes pinnate. Flowers in loose, diverging, leafless ra- 

 cemes. The whole plant is sweet-scented. Introduced from Europe 

 and naturalized in gardens and along roadsides. 



2. C. glaucum L. Oak-Leaved Goosefoot. Annual, succulent, 

 somewhat mealy. Stem spreading, much branched, 5-12 in. high. 

 Leaves varying from oblong to lanceolate, obtuse, some or all of 

 them more or less sinuate-toothed, 1-2 in. long. Flower clusters 

 mostly small axillary spikes. A common weed. Naturalized from 

 Europe. 



3. C. album L. Lamb's Quarters. Common Pigweed. Annual, 

 somewhat mealy. Stem erect, usually branching, 1-4 ft. high. Leaves 



