''Blitum virgatum'', (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

''Chenopodium foliosum'') is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name leafy goosefoot. It is native to Eurasia. It can be found on other continents as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived the ...

, growing as a minor weed in disturbed habitats and cultivated land.

Description

This is an erect annual herb growing to a maximum height just over half a meter. The leaves are 1 to 4 centimeters long and may be toothed or smooth-edged. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s are small spherical clusters of tiny reddish-green flowers wrapped around fruits which are about a millimeter wide.

Uses

The leaves and inflorescences are edible and resemble

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed eith ...

; the plant was grown as a

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

in former times, and there is some recent interest in its cultivation again.

External links

References

Susy Fuentes-Bazan, Pertti Uotila, Thomas Borsch: ''A novel phylogeny-based generic classification for Chenopodium sensu lato, and a tribal rearrangement of Chenopodioideae (Chenopodiaceae)''. In: ''Willdenowia'' 42, 2012, p. 17. virgatum Leaf vegetables Flora of Lebanon Flora of Europe Flora of Western Asia Flora of Russia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Amaranthaceae-stub