Weed Information: Chenopodium murale (goosefoot, nettleleaf)
Back to Plant List

Chenopodium murale (goosefoot, nettleleaf)

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Description

While similar to common lambsquarters, nettleleaf goosefoot differs in having much darker shiny green leaves which are pointed at the tip and on most of the lobes; hence resembling the leaves of nettle. The underside of the leaves are covered with the `scurfy meal` which is typical of this family.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Green
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Axillary spikes
  • Panicle
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United at base < 25% length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 2 styles
Number of Stamens
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 1 carpel
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Utricle
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Palmate
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Deltoid (triangular)
  • Hastate (spear-head)
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Crenate
  • Dentate
  • Serrate
Succulence
  • Succulent
  • Not succulent
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Hastate
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Lower leaf surface more hairy
  • Scurfy (mealy)

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
  • 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Montana
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
Other
  • Puerto Rico
  • Virgin Islands
  • District of Columbia

  • An Illustrated Guide To Arizona Weeds, 1972 (ISBN 0-8165-0288-9) 338 pages. See page: 104
  • California Growers Weed Identification Handbook, 1968 - 1998 University of California Publication # 4030-1, See page: 56
  • Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 30
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 65
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 54
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 187
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 153
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 602
  • Weeds of Crops in Southern Arizona, 1958 Arizona Ag. Exp. Station Bulletin #296, See page: 37
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 39
  • Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 270
  • Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 266
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
Back to Plant List