2223.000 Chenopodium L. - Goosefoots

Annual or perennial herbs, often mealy or foetid. Stems usually grooved or angular and often striped with red, white or green. Flowers bisexual and female, in small cymes ("glomerules") arranged in a branched inflorescence. Bracteoles 0. Perianth normally (3-)4-5-lobed. Stamens 1-5. Stigmas 2(-5). Seeds "horizontal" (vertically flattened) or less often "vertical" (horizontally flattened); testa normally hard.

Derivation of name: In Greek: goose-foot, referring to the shape of the leaves of some species.

Worldwide: c. 100 species, mainly in temperate regions

Zimbabwe: 5 taxa.