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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE GOOSEFOOT FAMILY | |||||||||
| The goosefoots are found in a wide variety of habitats around the world, but are especially common in dry or saline soil. Many species are considered weedy or invasive. This family contains over 1,150 fleshy herbs and shrubs. Some species may have kranz venation. This means that if you scrape the leaf with a sharp object you will see a dark network of veins if you look under a microscope at 10X magnification. This character is often used in the identification of plants in this family. The flowers are very small and are found in dense clusters in the leaf axils or at the ends or branches. The sepals and petals are not easily distinguishable, so they may be referred to as the perianth or as tepals. The flowers have five distinct stamens. There is a wide range of physical variation within species. | |||||||||
| MEALY GOOSEFOOT | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Chenopodium incanum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Mealy goosefoot is less than 25 cm tall and grows from a slender taproot. This annual plant is often branched from the base and is densely mealy throughout. The light green, alternate leaves are stalked and are about as wide as long. The lower leaves are triangular to diamond-shaped. The flowers are in head-like clusters which are arranged into spikes, then branched clusters. The sepals cover the seeds at maturity. The seeds are in a horizontal position and are black, smooth, and shiny. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Mealy goosefoot grows in open, clayey grasslands and barrens. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant grows in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland, and Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Mealy goosefoot is threatened in Saskatchewan because it is extremely rare and somewhat regionally restricted. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY MEALY GOOSEFOOT | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves triangular to diamond-shaped? * Are the fruits horizontal? * Are the leaves light green? * Did you find in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found mealy goosefoot! | |||||||||
