Roaming Roots

LAMBSQUARTERS, GOOSEFOOT, WILD SPINACH, FAT-HEN, PIG WEED

If you’ve been following our travels, you will have noticed that we love zoos and wildlife parks. So it goes without saying that we had to stop at the zoo ranked #1 in the nation, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

For those that enjoy history, the Cincinnati zoo is one of the oldest in the nation and their Ottoman-style Reptile House dates back to 1875, making it the oldest existing Zoo building in the country!

But my favorite thing about this zoo is the way their botanical garden is fully integrated into the zoo exhibits, making the experience more natural. Also, as much as possible, the enclosures are creatively constructed to seem quite minimal, creating a “cage-less” impression, while maintaining the safety of the animals and visitors alike.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

Annual plant, considered by many to be a weed, that can be found anywhere except the most inhospitable locales – think Antarctica and extreme deserts.

Both the common and scientific names were inspired by the leaves’ goosefoot-like silhouette. The genus Chenopodium comes from the Greek words chen, meaning “goose,” and podion, meaning “little foot.”

The triangular leaf shape can vary to diamond-shaped or lance-shaped but is always alternate and irregularly toothed. Leaves are farinose, meaning covered with a grayish-white powdery coating. This key characteristic contributes to species name, album, which means “white.”

Stems are somewhat square, erect to sprawling, and simple to much-branched. Stems also have pale blue-green striping, and purple coloration at nodes and occasionally on the leaf stems.

The flowers lack petals and are inconspicuous, small, green, dense, small clusters.                                                                                                                

TRADITIONAL USES AND HERBAL BENEFITS

Lambsquarters is an important wild green across the globe and are packed with protein, iron, calcium, vitamin C, A, B1, and B2.

The leaves, shoots, seeds, and flowers are all edible with a few cautionary comments. One, there are toxic saponins in the seeds, so these should be eaten in small quantities. Two, lambsquarters does contain oxalic acid. Cooking neutralizes this acid, but raw lambsquarters should not be consumed in excess.

• Seeds can be ground into a flour or can be sprouted for microgreens.

• Lambsquarters leaves can be used any way one would use domestic spinach.

Medicinal uses for the leaves include an herbal tea to soothe gastrointestinal issues or a fresh anti-inflammatory poultice for minor skin irritations. The roots also contain saponins and can be mashed to make a natural soap. 

RECIPE

Lambsquarters is my favorite wild green. The grayish-white powdery coating on the leaves contains mineral salts from the soil and imparts a delicious salty flavor.

Today I kept it simple. . .

“The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters is simplicity. Nothing is better than simplicity . . . . nothing can make up for excess or for the lack of definiteness.”

Walt Whitman – Leaves of Grass

But simple food does not have to taste plain. Carefully paired, quality ingredients can create a symphony on the tongue. With weeds, no less!

Sautéed Lambsquarters in Brown Butter

In this case, I paired the salty green leaves of lambsquarters with brown butter – regular butter that has been cooked just long enough to toast the milk solids in the butter and impart the most delicious nutty flavor.

1. Remove the lambsquarters leaves from the stems and giving the leaves a good wash in cool water.
2. Make the brown butter:
   • In a skillet, add butter (if you slice it, it will melt more evenly) and stir frequently on medium heat until it melts.
   • Continue to cook the butter.
   • Once melted, the butter will foam up a bit, then recede. Lightly browned specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan and the begins to emit a nutty aroma. Watch carefully! It is easy to overcook brown butter.
3. Add the lambsquarters leaves and sautéed quickly.
4. Add fresh-grated nutmeg.
5. Remove from heat and serve.

Delicious!

References

Chelsea Green Publishing. (2022). How to use lambsquarter from root to plant to seed. https://www.chelseagreen.com/2021/use-lambsquarter-from-root-to-seed/#:~:text=Lambsquarter%20is%20an%20important%20source,injuries%2C%20inflammation%2C%20and%20sunburn.

Cornell University. (2022). Common lambsquarters. Cornell Weed Identification. https://blogs.cornell.edu/weedid/common-lambsquarters/

Edible Wild Food. (n.d.). Lamb’s quarters: Chenopodium album. https://www.ediblewildfood.com/lambs-quarters.aspx

Four Season Foraging. (2017, July 5). Identifying lamb’s quarters. https://www.fourseasonforaging.com/blog/2017/7/2/identifying-lambs-quarters#:~:text=Since%20lamb’s%20quarters%20and%20orache,bracteoles%20eventually%20enclose%20the%20seeds

SEINet Portal Network. (2022). Chenopodium album L.  https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=Chenopodium%20album#

Sycamore, S. (2018, May 8). How to identify lambsquarters — Foraging for edible wild spinach greens. Sycamore Garden. https://foraging.sycamore.garden/plants/edible-wild-spinach-lambsquarters