Chenopodium

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Chenopodium
Chenopodium berlandieri NPS-1.jpg
Chenopodium berlandieri
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Chenopodioideae
Tribe: Atripliceae
Genus: Chenopodium
L. (1753)
Species [1]

132; see text

Synonyms [1] [2]
  • AgatophytonFourr. (1869)
  • BlitumHill (1757), nom. illeg.
  • BotrysRchb. ex Nieuwl. (1914)
  • EinadiaRaf. (1838)
  • RhagodiaR.Br. (1810)
  • VulvariaBubani (1897), nom. illeg.
  • Chenopodium sect. LeprophyllumDumort.
  • Chenopodium sect. ChenopodiastrumMoq.

Chenopodium is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoot, which occur almost anywhere in the world. [3] It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classification systems, notably the widely used Cronquist system, separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, [4] but this leaves the rest of the Amaranthaceae polyphyletic. However, among the Amaranthaceae, the genus Chenopodium is the namesake member of the subfamily Chenopodioideae. [2]

Contents

Description

White goosefoot (Chenopodium album) Chenopodium album (4032134406).jpg
White goosefoot ( Chenopodium album )

The species of Chenopodium (s.str., description according to Fuentes et al. 2012) [2] are annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or small trees. [5] They generally rely on alkaline soil. [5] They are nonaromatic, but sometimes fetid. The young stems and leaves are often densely covered by vesicular globose hairs, thus looking farinose. Characteristically, these trichomes persist, collapsing later and becoming cup-shaped. The branched stems grow erect, ascending, prostrate or scrambling. Lateral branches are alternate (the lowermost ones can be nearly opposite). The alternate or opposite leaves are petiolate. Their thin or slightly fleshy leaf blade is linear, rhombic or triangular-hastate, with entire or dentate or lobed margins. [2]

Inflorescences are standing terminal and lateral. They consist of spicately or paniculately arranged glomerules of flowers. Plants are monoecious (rarely dioecious). In monoecious plants flowers are dimorphic or pistillate. Flowers consist of (4–) 5 perianth segments connate, basally or close to the middle, usually membranous margined and with a roundish to keeled back; almost always 5 stamens, and one ovary with 2 stigmas. [2]

In fruit, perianth segments become sometimes coloured, but mostly keep unchanged, somewhat closing over or spreading from the fruit. The pericarp is membranous or sometimes succulent, adherent to or loosely covering the seed. The horizontally oriented seeds are depressed-globular to lenticular, with rounded to subacute margin. The black seed coat is almost smooth to finely striate, rugulose or pitted. [2]

Uses and human importance

Cooked quinoa (C. quinoa) seeds Quinoa cuit.JPG
Cooked quinoa (C. quinoa) seeds

The genus Chenopodium contains several plants of minor to moderate importance as food crops as leaf vegetables used like the closely related spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and similar plants called quelite in Mexico  and pseudocereals.[ citation needed ] These include white goosefoot (C. album), kañiwa (C. pallidicaule) and quinoa (C. quinoa). On the Greek island of Crete, tender shoots and leaves of a species called krouvida (κρουβίδα) or psarovlito (ψαρόβλητο) are eaten by the locals, boiled or steamed.[ citation needed ] As studied by Bruce D. Smith, Kristen Gremillion and others, goosefoots have a history of culinary use dating back to 4000 BC or earlier, when pitseed goosefoot (C. berlandieri) was a staple crop in the Native American Eastern Agricultural Complex,[ citation needed ] and when white goosefoot was apparently used by the Ertebølle culture of Europe.[ citation needed ] Members of the eastern European Yamnaya culture also harvested white goosefoot as an apparent cereal substitute to round out an otherwise mostly meat and dairy diet c. 3500–2500 BC. [6]

There is increased interest in particular in goosefoot seeds today, which are suitable as part of a gluten-free diet.[ citation needed ] Quinoa oil, extracted from the seeds of C. quinoa, has similar properties, but is superior in quality, to corn oil.[ citation needed ] Oil of chenopodium is extracted from the seeds of epazote, which is not in this genus anymore.[ citation needed ] Shagreen leather was produced in the past using the small, hard goosefoot seeds.[ citation needed ]C. album was one of the main model organisms for the molecular biological study of chlorophyllase.[ citation needed ]

Goosefoot pollen, in particular of the widespread and usually abundant C. album, is an allergen to many people and a common cause of hay fever. [7] The same species, as well as some others, have seeds which are able to persist for years in the soil seed bank.[ citation needed ] Many goosefoot species are thus significant weeds, and some have become invasive species. [7]

In Australia, the larger Chenopodium species are among the plants called "bluebushes".[ citation needed ] According to the 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia, Chenopodium auricomum "is another of the salt-bushes, which, besides being invaluable food for stock, can be eaten by man. All plants of the Natural Order Chenopodiaceae (Salsolacese) are more or less useful in this respect." The book goes on to give the following account from the Journal de la Ferme et des Maisons de campagne: [8]

We have recently gathered an abundant harvest of leaves from two or three plants growing in our garden. These leaves were put into boiling water to blanch them, and they were then cooked as an ordinary dish of spinach, with this difference in favour of the new plant, that there was no occasion to take away the threads which are so disagreeable in chicory, sorrel, and ordinary spinach. We partook of this dish with relish—the flavour—analogous to spinach, had something in it more refined, less grassy in taste. The cultivation is easy: sow the seed in April (October) in a well-manured bed, for the plant is greedy; water it. The leaves may be gathered from the time the plant attains 50 centimetres (say 20 inches) in height. They grow up again quickly. In less than eight days afterwards another gathering may take place, and so on to the end of the year.

Chualar, California is named after a Native American term for a goosefoot abundant in the region, probably the California goosefoot (Blitum californicum).[ citation needed ]

Ecology

Certain species grow in large thickets, providing cover for small animals. Goosefoot foliage is used as food by the caterpillars of certain Lepidoptera.[ citation needed ] The seeds are eaten by many birds, such as the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) of Europe or the white-winged fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus) of Australia.[ citation needed ] Goosefoot pathogens include the positive-sense ssRNA viruses   apple stem grooving virus, sowbane mosaic virus and tobacco necrosis virus.[ citation needed ]

Systematics

The genus Chenopodium was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 (In: Species Plantarum, Vol. 1, p. 218–222). Type species is Chenopodium album . This generic name is derived from the particular shape of the leaf, which is similar to a goose's foot: from Greek χήν (chen), "goose" and πούς (pous), "foot" or ποδίον (podion), "little foot".

In its traditional circumscription, Chenopodium comprised about 170 species. [3] Phylogenetic research revealed, that the genus was highly polyphyletic and did not reflect how species were naturally related. Therefore, a new classification was necessary. Mosyakin & Clemants (2002, 2008) separated the glandular species as genus Dysphania (which includes epazote) and Teloxys in tribe Dysphanieae. Fuentes-Bazan et al. (2012) separated many species to genera Blitum (in tribe Anserineae), Chenopodiastrum , Lipandra , and Oxybasis (like Chenopodium in tribe Atripliceae). They included Rhagodia and Einadia in Chenopodium. [2]

Species

132 species are currently accepted. [1]

`Aheahea (Chenopodium oahuense) Starr 010206-0253 Chenopodium oahuense.jpg
ʻĀheahea ( Chenopodium oahuense )
Chenopodium candolleanum Rhagodia candolleana.jpg
Chenopodium candolleanum
Chenopodium ficifolium jommyeongaju.JPG
Chenopodium ficifolium
Chenopodium giganteum MagentaSpreen Chenopodium giganteum EdibleOffice.jpg
Chenopodium giganteum

Excluded species

Fossil record

Chenopodium wetzleri fossil seeds of the Chattian stage, Oligocene, are known from the Oberleichtersbach Formation in the Rhön Mountains, central Germany. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Chenopodium album</i> Species of flowering plant in the goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae

Chenopodium album is a fast-growing annual plant in the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-hen, though the latter two are also applied to other species of the genus Chenopodium, for which reason it is often distinguished as white goosefoot. Chenopodium album is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India, and Nepal as a food crop known as bathua.

<i>Blitum bonus-henricus</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum bonus-henricus, also called Good-King-Henry, poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot which is native to much of central and southern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chenopodioideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included – together with other subfamilies – in the family Chenopodiaceae, or goosefoot family, in the Cronquist system.

<i>Blitum capitatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Strawberry blite is an edible annual plant, also known as blite goosefoot, strawberry goosefoot, strawberry spinach, Indian paint, and Indian ink.

<i>Chenopodium berlandieri</i> Species of edible flowering plant

Chenopodium berlandieri, also known by the common names pitseed goosefoot, lamb's quarters, and huauzontle (Nahuatl) is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Amaranthaceae.

<i>Oxybasis rubra</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxybasis rubra, common names red goosefoot or coastblite goosefoot, is a member of the genus Oxybasis, a segregate of Chenopodium. It is native to North America and Eurasia. It is an annual plant.

<i>Chenopodiastrum murale</i> Species of flowering plant

Chenopodiastrum murale, is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common names nettle-leaved goosefoot, Australian-spinach, salt-green, and sowbane. This plant is native to Europe and parts of Asia and northern Africa, but it is widespread worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas due to the ease of it being introduced. It is a common weed of fields and roadsides.

<i>Chenopodium candolleanum</i> Species of plant

Chenopodium candolleanum, commonly known as seaberry saltbush, is a shrub in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae, native to Australia.

<i>Chenopodium baccatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Chenopodium baccatum, commonly known as berry saltbush, is a species of shrub endemic to Western Australia.

<i>Blitum virgatum</i> Species of flowering plant

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

<i>Blitum californicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum californicum is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names California goosefoot and (ambiguously) "Indian lettuce".

<i>Oxybasis chenopodioides</i> Species of plant

Oxybasis chenopodioides is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common name saltmarsh goosefoot. It is native to Europe, Asia and parts of Africa, where it grows on bare mud in brackish hollows in coastal grassland, inland salt steppes and salty deserts. It has spread to similar habitats in both North and South America. Its habitat is an uncommon one and is threatened by agricultural improvement in many areas, but overall its populations are stable. This species often grows with, and is easily confused with the closely-related red goosefoot.

<i>Blitum nuttallianum</i> Species of flowering plant

Blitum nuttallianum, is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names povertyweed and Nuttall's povertyweed. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and common from Alaska to Mexico to New England. It can be found in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas, often favoring wet places. It is a fleshy annual herb producing two or more erect, reddish, hairless stems up to about 40 centimeters tall. The thick lance-shaped or arrowhead-shaped leaves are up to 4 centimeters in length. Clusters of several rounded flowers each appear in the leaf axils and yield small fruits about 2 millimeters wide.

<i>Spinacia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family Amaranthaceae

Spinacia is a flowering plant genus in the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. The most common member is spinach.

<i>Dysphania</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Dysphania is a genus of plants in the family Amaranthaceae. Species of the genus are found worldwide from the tropics and subtropics to warm-temperate regions.

<i>Oxybasis glauca</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxybasis glauca, common name oak-leaved goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot plant native to Europe. It has been introduced and become an invasive weed in North America. This invader of European origin also appears in trampled communities in North Korea.

<i>Chenopodiastrum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Chenopodiastrum is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus was formally described in 2012. The 5 species occur in Eurasia, North Africa, and North America.

<i>Blitum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Blitum is a genus of flowering plants in the amaranth family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. It is closely related to genus Spinacia. Its 12 species were traditionally placed in the genera Chenopodium, Monolepis, or Scleroblitum. The species of genus Blitum occur in Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Americas, and Australia.

<i>Oxybasis</i> Genus of plants

Oxybasis is a flowering plant genus from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae. It was first described in 1841, and newly used since 2012 for five species that were traditionally grouped into genus Chenopodium. They occur in Europe, Asia, North Africa and America.

<i>Lipandra</i> Genus of flowering plants

Lipandra polysperma, common name manyseed goosefoot, is the only species of the monotypic plant genus Lipandra from the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chenopodium L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 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. Vol. 42, No. 1, 2012, p. 5-24.
  3. 1 2 Gelin Zhu, Sergei L. Mosyakin & Steven E. Clemants: Chenopodium - In: Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (Hrsg.): Flora of China. Volume 5: Ulmaceae through Basellaceae. Science Press/Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing/St. Louis 2003, ISBN   1-930723-27-X, p. 378-.
  4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chenopodium"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 80.
  5. 1 2 Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 64. ISBN   0-87842-280-3. OCLC   25708726.
  6. Anthony, David (2007). The horse, the wheel, and language. Princeton university press. pp. 302–303.
  7. 1 2 "Amaranthus and Chenopodium". alabamaallergy.com. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  8. J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney. pp. 15–16.
  9. English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 407. ISBN   978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2016 via Korea Forest Service.
  10. The floral change in the tertiary of the Rhön mountains (Germany) by Dieter Hans Mai - Acta Paleobotanica 47(1): 135-143, 2007.

Further reading