Blitum californicum

Blitum californicum[1] (syn. Chenopodium californicum) is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names California goosefoot and (ambiguously) "Indian lettuce".

Blitum californicum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Blitum
Species:
B. californicum
Binomial name
Blitum californicum
Synonyms
  • Chenopodium californicum (S.Watson) S.Watson

It is native to California and Baja California where it can be found below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in open areas in a number of habitat types, such as grassland, chaparral, desert, and montane.[2]

Description

This is a perennial herb producing a number of decumbent to erect stems which approach a meter in maximum height when growing upright. It grows from a thick, fleshy caudex. When there are many stems the plant may form a clump or mat. The leaves grow on long petioles and are triangular or arrowhead-shaped and up to about 10 centimeters long. The edges are deeply and sharply toothed.[3]

The inflorescences are spherical clusters dotted along an inflorescence-like spike. Each dense cluster contains several rounded flowers, with each flower a series of flat lobes covering the developing fruit. The fruit is a reddish utricle layered around the surface of the seed.

Uses

California goosefoot was used for a variety of purposes by Native Americans including use as a medicine and a source of soap, in addition to the use of the seeds for flour and the leaves and shoots as a cooked vegetable.[4]

References
  1. Susy Fuentes-Bazan, Pertti Uotila, Thomas Borsch: A novel phylogeny-based generic classification for Chenopodium sensu lato, and a tribal rearrangement of Chenopodioideae (Chenopodiaceae). In: Willdenowia 42, 2012, p. 18.
  2. Wilken, Dieter H. (1993). "Chenopodium californicum". In Hickman, James C. (ed.). The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University and Jepson Herbaria.
  3. "Blitum californicum". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA.
  4. "Native American Ethnobotany" (Database). University of Michigan - Dearborn. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
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