Chenopodium berlandieri

Chenopodium berlandieri
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Chenopodium
Species:	C. berlandieri
Binomial name
Chenopodium berlandieri Moq.

Chenopodium berlandieri, also known by the common names pitseed goosefoot,^[1] lamb's quarters (or lambsquarters), and huauzontle (Nahuatl) is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Amaranthaceae.

The species is widespread in

Seeds

Chenopodium seeds vary in shape between lenticular and

Very small flowers are tightly packed in small round clusters (glomerules) in spike-like and branching arrangements at the top of the stem, at the tips of branching stems and arising from upper leaf axils. The glomerules usually crowd on the branch. Within a glomerule, flowers may be at different stages of development: some just budding and others with maturing fruit.[10] Flowers lack petals, have 5 stamens and a round, green ovary with a 2-parted style at the tip that is not divided all the way to the base. Cupping the flower is a green calyx with 5 lobes 0.5 to 1.5 mm long and variable shape: triangular or egg-shaped, strongly keeled, blunt to rounded at the tip and thin and papery around the edges. Bracts are leaf-like or sometimes absent. The calyx, stalks and branches are moderately to densely white-mealy.^[10]

Leaves and Stems

Leaves are alternate, ½ to 6 inches long and up to 3½ inches wide. The leaves are variable in shape: diamond to triangular to egg-shaped to lance-elliptic in outline. The tips may be pointed or blunt, while wedge-shaped or straight across at the base tapering to a stalk up to 3½ inches long. Lower leaves are largest, irregularly toothed, 1½ to 2+ times as long as wide and usually with a pair of shallow lobes near the base. Leaves become smaller and less toothy as they ascend the stem with the uppermost leaves often much narrower, proportionately longer and toothless.^[10]

Surfaces are green, hairless and moderately to densely white-mealy, especially when young. The upper surface usually becomes smooth, while the lower surface usually remains white-mealy. Stems are also highly variable: erect to ascending, unbranched to much branched and sparsely to densely white-mealy, especially on the upper stem. The stem color may vary from green to purple-striped to red.^[10]

Taxonomy

The species includes two

The extinct variety is well-documented, though it may represent more than one taxon:[13]

• C. b. subsp. jonesianum

Additionally, the cultivars of the C. b. nuttalliae subspecies are:^[11][14]

• 'Huauzontle' - This cultivar is a more recent selection used in commercial cultivation for a broccoli-like crop. It is a "naked" variety and has a testa only 2-7 µm thick (cf. human hair, which is about 100 µm wide).
• 'Chia' - Grown as a grain crop, this cultivar is declining and is cultivated only on a local level. It also has a very thin testa, though slightly thicker than the previous at 10-20 µm.
• 'Quelite' - This cultivar is cultivated for its spinach-like leaves.

The species is capable of

Although cultivation disappeared in eastern North America, C. b. subsp. nuttalliae continues to be cultivated as a domesticated crop in Mexico.[2] Three varieties of the subspecies are grown as a pseudocereal, as a leaf vegetable, and for its broccoli-like flowering shoots, respectively.^[11][14]

The principal difference between wild and domesticated forms of Chenopodium is the thickness of the seed coat. In the domesticated varieties, due to

Cultivation

Climate & soil requirements

Chenopodium berlandieri is an extremely versatile plant; it can handle a variety of elevations, commonly found growing at sea level and at 10,000 feet (3,000 m) elevation, such as in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. In the Andes of South America, there are varieties of lambsquarter that grow at over 12,000 feet (3,700 m).^[31] It is very cold hardy and therefore one of the later weeds to be killed by frost. It dislikes shade. When exposed to full sun conditions, the plants tend to be robust with many lateral branches producing high quantities of seed. Plants growing in shaded conditions tend to be more gracile, taller, with fewer lateral branches and produce less seed.^[32]

Chenopodium berlandieri thrives in many types of soil with varying pH levels. When the soil is fertile, it will grow large and full in size and form very attractive stands of vegetation. The presence of a stand of healthy lambsquarter is one of the best indicators for vital soil. However, it can also handle the worst of soils and has been known to even survive in disturbed soils such as annual vegetable gardens, neglected fields and coal-pit heaps. Like its close relatives, it also makes a fantastic cover crop and natural fertilizer because of its dense nutrient content.^[31]

Sowing

C. Berlandieri is a self-seeding annual plant. It grows easily from seed and does not require orderly cultivation.^[33] The seeds themselves can stay dormant for many years and take root when the conditions are ideal. The species is hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs on the same plant, which are wind-pollinated. It is known to cross-pollinate with Chenopodium album to create a hybrid. The plant is in flower from July to October, with green-hued flowers. From August to October, the seeds ripen.^[31]

Harvesting

C. berlandieri is an elusive subject for harvest yield experiments; the floodplain weeds with their minuscule seeds are difficult to harvest relative to other species. High costs are associated with its harvesting due to the minute size and oiliness of seeds. Although occurring in vast numbers, seed size makes collecting enough for daily or long-term subsistence needs of an individual or group challenging. The relative cost of procurement and processing in quantities sufficient for a meal has been a limiting factor in their use throughout history and domestication has had little impact on reducing overall handling costs.^[25]

Yield

The yield of pitseed goosefoot can vary substantially due to the differences in amount of sunlight received by the plants.

Members of the Chenopodium species have been implicated among the greatest weed threats to agriculture in North America and globally.^[34] This success can be attributed to their ability to survive across a range of environmental conditions due to a high reproductive capacity, variation in their dormancy and germination requirements, and abiotic stress tolerance.^[35][36]

Importantly, the Amaranthaceae family is one of five weed families (along with Poaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Chenopodiaceae) that represent only 50% of the world's principal weeds but account for approximately 70% of all cases of herbicide resistance.^[34] Most research identifies European species C. album as a prime candidate for resistance to multiple herbicides, in particular to triazines and glyphosates. The weed status and herbicide tolerance of C. berlandieri is less researched and less clear due to its many wild and semi-domesticated forms resulting from frequent hybridization and polyploidy.^[37][38]

The spread and sporadic domestication of C. berlandieri across eastern North and Central America has resulted in a complex network of domesticated and wild sub-species known to co-exist and interact in shared ecosystems. Human paleofeces collected from Salts Cave in Kentucky and Big Bone Cave in Tennessee were found to contain both seeds from weed and crop forms of the plant seemingly consumed within hours of each other, suggesting close spatial proximity and a potential for hybridization between populations.^[39]

Morphological studies identified that seeds from weedy varieties of C. berlandieri tend to have a thicker testa (seed coat), a more rounded or biconvex margin configuration, more prominent testa patterning, a less developed beak, and a smaller overall size when compared to their domesticated counterparts. However, intermediate morphologies were also identified, indicating genetic interaction (crossing over) between these groups.^[39]

This cross-compatibility and hybridization leads to the formation of crop-weed complexes, between C. berlandieri plants as well as with other members of the Chenopodium species.^[40] For example, following the spread of C. quinoa across North America as a novel crop, one study found that up to 30% of wild C. berlandieri grown along the periphery of quinoa fields were crop/weed hybrids. Gene flow was observed to be asymmetric (from crop to weed), due to a preferential flow of pollen from high-density populations of domesticated C. quinoa to dispersed populations of wild C. berlandieri.^[41] This directional crop-weed interaction has implications for the future of introgressive change in wild C. berlandieri varieties. While genetic introgression is often degenerative for both crops and wild plants,^[42][43][44] it may also promote greater biodiversity in conventional cropping systems and present research opportunities for new crop varieties.

Processing and use

Chenopodium berlandieri has little presence in the current world food system, especially compared to other plants within its genus, such as Chenopodium quinoa or Chenopodium ambrosioides. This may be due to a recent Western bias against weedy plants, as well as a manifestation of colonial history which led to a disconnect from the local environment and indigenous knowledge.^[25]

Today, the plant is still used as an edible herb and vegetable, primarily in Mexico. Edible parts of the plant include leaves, young shoots and seeds. Like other leafy greens, the leaves and shoots are eaten raw or cooked,^[45] though raw leaves are bitter as they contain chemical compounds produced by the plant for defense mechanisms.

The plant can be processed through mechanical and chemical techniques.^[20] Mechanical processing techniques include winnowing to remove non-nutritive components, including possibly toasting the seeds during the winnowing process, followed by milling to de-husk the plant and separate the seeds.^[20]

The seeds can then be ground down into smaller particles to make grits or bulgur, or ground further into flours to be combined with cereal flours to make breads or pancakes.^[45]

The seeds contain

The leaf nutritional content, expressed per 100 g of fresh weight: 0.2 kJ Fat, 3.45 kJ Protein, 3.17 kJ total dietary fiber (primarily insoluble fiber; 8.3% to 12.8% of the

recommended daily intake), 111.8 kJ energy, 2.21 kJ available carbohydrates.^[47] The leaves are sources of phytochemicals and nutritional compounds.^[47] They have shown significant contents of protein, inorganic nutrients of Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe) and Magnesium (Mg).^[47] It also has a high percentage of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids, which are essential for human nutrition,^[48] and highest total flavonoids index (TFI) when compared to other Amaranthacae species.^[47]

The plant is a good source of fiber and has high flavonoids concentration, such as quercetin and kaempferol, which have high antioxidant potential.^[47] Leaves have been analyzed to contain higher chlorophyll content compared to other Amaranthacae species, which is nutritionally relevant, as it has been reported to reduce reactive oxygen species.^[47]

The seeds are gluten free.^[46] Like other quinoa and amaranth species, proteins in the seeds are of particularly high nutritional value due to high concentration of essential amino acids.^[46] Safety concerns have been raised around saponins, which are toxic, though mostly to fish.^[45] In the plant, the saponin quantity is too small to harm humans.^[45] Studies have shown that some saponins may form insoluble complexes with minerals, such as zinc and iron, thus negatively affecting absorption and bioavailability of nutrients in the gut.^[46] Saponins are bitter, but break down during the cooking process, rendering them harmless and allowing nutrients to be bioavailable to humans.^[45] Cooking also reduces the oxalic acid content, which may also raise concerns.^[45]

Future potential as medicine

Chenopodium berlandieri is a prime candidate for additional research, especially its prospects for utility in the medicinal model. Long-term use of this plant makes little sense when judged in strict terms of subsistence. C. berlandieri shares some qualities with its medicinally useful relatives such as

vermifuge and a potential food preservative. This makes its potential medicinal value a possibility. Its chemical constituents and possible medicinal properties have only been briefly examined in the anthropological and botanical literature. The useful substances in the leaves avoid the problems associated with the inefficiency of harvesting and processing the seeds.^[49] Tests for and analyses of bioactive

chemical compounds would likely resolve questions about the use of Chenopodium berlandieri and the medicinal use may be evident in the concentration of these compounds.

See also

• Jean-Louis Berlandier
• Iva annua
• Polygonum erectum
• Hordeum pusillum
• Phalaris caroliniana
• Helianthus
• Cucurbita pepo

References

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Further reading

• Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L.; Little, C.R. (2007), Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico, Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press
  ISBN 0-89672-614-2

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chenopodium berlandieri.

• USDA Plants Profile for Chenopodium berlandieri (pitseed goosefoot)
• Germplasm Resources Information Network−GRIN: treatment of Chenopodium berlandieri
• The Lost Crops Garden Network