Lamb's Quarters

Chenopodium album

Amaranthaceae (Amaranth)

Wild spinach — mild, abundant, and far more nutritious than the store kind. The young growth is best.

EdibleWild / foragedForagedNutrient-denseSurvival crop

Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album) illustration — Texas Roots plant database, by Jordan Polasek

Sun

Full sun

Water

Low

Soil

Any, prefers rich

pH

Adaptable

Hardiness

Warm-season annual

Height

1–6 ft

Days to harvest

Spring–summer

What it is

Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album) is in the Amaranthaceae (Amaranth) family. Wild spinach — mild, abundant, and far more nutritious than the store kind. The young growth is best.

How to grow it

It wants full sun, water it low, and give it any, prefers rich soil. Target a soil pH around Adaptable. Expect roughly Spring–summer. Warm-season annual.

How it's used

Lamb's Quarters is used: cooked like spinach; seeds as grain.

🔎 How to identify it

Diamond/goosefoot-shaped leaves
White mealy coating on new growth
Reddish leaf-axils

Edibility

PartsLeaves and seeds

UsesCooked like spinach; seeds as grain

CautionContains oxalates; cook and eat in moderation.

🌤 Before you plant: check the live 7-day garden weather to time it right for frost and heat.

Part of the free Texas Roots plant database, compiled by Jordan Polasek from his greenhouse in El Campo, Texas. Free to read and share. If it helped, the best thanks is to grow something.