Lamb’s quarter is an upright, branched, summer annual plant which is found growing almost anywhere especially roadsides, stream banks, gardens, lawns, and waste places. It is a nutrients dense vegetable which is used medicinally.
| Name | Lamb’s quarters |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Chenopodium album |
| Native | Originally from Europe and Asia. |
| Common/English Name | Common lambsquarters, lambsquarters goosefoot, pigweed, white goosefoot, melde, fat-hen |
| Name in Other Languages | Hindi: bathua Telugu: Pappukura Tamil: Paruppukkirai Kannada: Kaduoma Malayalam: Vastuccira Konkani : Chakvit |
| Plant Growth Habit | Upright, branched, summer annual |
| Growing Climate | Grows anywhere, especially roadsides, stream banks, gardens, lawns, and waste places. |
| Soil | Fertile, heavy and well-drained soil |
| Plant Size | Grows between 15 cm and 1 meter tall |
| Root | Short and branched taproot |
| Stem | Erect, moderately branched central stem up to 6 feet in height. Mature stems are vertically grooved with red, pink, purple, yellow or light green stripes. |
| Leaf | Leaves are alternate, simple, green above, and mealy-white below. They can be triangular, diamond-shaped, or lanceolate. Lower leaves are borne on stalks, have coarsely toothed margins or shallow lobes, and often resemble a goose’s foot. Upper leaves do not have stalks and are narrow and linear. Leaves are 1/2 – 3 inches long and up to 1 1/4 inches wide. |
| Flower | Tiny, petal-less, gray-green flowers occur in tightly clustered spikes at the ends of branches. Flowers are globular and are enveloped almost entirely by a cup of five green sepals 10–40 cm long |
| Flowering Season | June to September |
| Plant’s Taste | Earthy, mineral rich taste |
| Seed | Round to oval, somewhat flattened, black to brown, shiny seeds are enclosed by a star-shaped, papery covering. |
| Major Nutrition | Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 889.6 µg (741.33%) Vitamin A, RAE 704 µg (100.57%) Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) 66.6 mg (74.00%) Calcium, Ca 464 mg (46.40%) Manganese, Mn 0.945 mg (41.09%) Copper, Cu 0.355 mg (39.44%) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.468 mg (36.00%) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 0.313 mg (24.08%) Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 3.33 mg (22.20%) Isoleucine 0.347 g (20.75%) Iron, Fe 1.26 mg (15.75%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.18 mg (15.00%) Valine 0.31 g (14.68%) Lysine 0.486 g (14.53%) Leucine 0.481 g (13.01%) Histidine 0.158 g (12.82%) Threonine 0.223 g (12.67%) Tryptophan 0.052 g (11.82%) Phosphorus, P 81 mg (11.57%) Protein 5.76 g (11.52%) Potassium, K 518 mg (11.02%) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 1.62 mg (10.13%) Total dietary Fiber 3.8 g (10.00%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in 1cup (100gm) | 58 Kcal |