Fremont's goosefoot (Chenopodium fremontii)

Family: Chenopodiaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Chenopodium fremontii is a ANNUAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft). The seeds ripen from September to November. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Leaves, Shoots

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Leaves and young shoots - cooked and used like spinach. The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity. Seed - cooked. — Leaves and young shoots - cooked and used like spinach.; The raw leaves should only be eaten in small quantities, see the notes above on toxicity.; Ground into a meal and used with water as a mush, or mixed with cereal flours in making bread etc.; The seed is small and fiddly, about 1mm in diameter, it should be soaked in water overnight and thoroughly rinsed before it is used in order to remove any saponins.

Habitat & North American Range

A wide variety of habitats from desert, cliffs, talus, and moist shaded areas under aspen, junipers, or pinyons, often in riparian habitats at elevations of 2000 - 2900 metres. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)