The Lambsquarters, or
Chenopodiaceae, family is also known as the Goosefoot family. The goosefoot comes from the
distinctive shape of the leaves. As a grad student I grabbed our goose and took the photo
here of its foot. Believe me, the goose was not happy with this photo opportunity.
Common lambsquarters is a very competitive, adaptive
weed. The picture on the left is a small, wimpy looking plant that managed to get a
toe-hold (rooted) on this railroad siding in upper Bohemia, in the Czech Republic. Any
plant that can produce offspring with this amount of resources is going to win every time.
And it does as well in our corn fields. Here is some
runaway common lambsquarters that has so harmed the corn that it has drought stressed,
curled leaves. This weed is a tough competitor for both nutrients and water.Seed:
