Chenopodium polyspermum var. acutifolium

Manyseed goosefoot

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Manyseed goosefoot is a naturalized annual found in northern coastal California and the Sierra Nevada eastern slopes in sandy soils at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering in September, this plant produces small inconspicuous flowers densely arranged in branched axillary and terminal spikes. Growing 15 to 50 centimeters tall with prostrate lower branches and upright upper stems, it develops elliptic to oblong leaves that turn reddish with age. Its leaf blades measure 15 to 40 millimeters long, with tapered or rounded bases and acute tips, appearing glabrous or slightly powdery underneath. The tiny horizontal seeds are less than one millimeter in diameter, with a shiny black seed coat that has a minutely wrinkled texture.

Habitat: Sandy soils

Bloom period: Sep

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: NCo, SNE

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.