Chenopodium watsonii
Watson's goosefoot
(c) Dustin Snider, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Chenopodium watsonii (Watson's goosefoot) is a native California herb in the Chenopodiaceae family, recognized by geographically restricted to San Gabriel Mountains with distinctive broad rounded leaves.
Watson's goosefoot is a California native annual found in the southern Coast Ranges in woodland and scrub habitats at elevations below 3,200 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces small powdery flowers in leafy clusters with ovate sepals. Growing with erect or ascending stems 10 to 45 centimeters tall that are branched at the base and have a distinctive scent, it develops a compact, rounded form. Its leaves are broadly rounded-ovate or diamond-shaped, 10 to 26 millimeters long, with entire or slightly toothed edges and a powdery surface on both sides. The fruit is small, approximately 1 to 1.3 millimeters in diameter, with a white wall deeply pitted and enclosing a horizontal seed.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 9 sympatric species; geographically restricted to San Gabriel Mountains with distinctive broad rounded leaves
Habitat and range
Habitat: Woodland, scrub
Elevation: < 3200 m
Outside California: to southern Canada, central United States
Bloom period
Chenopodium watsonii blooms Jul-Oct.
How to tell it apart
vs Chenopodiastrum: Chenopodium has mealy coating; Chenopodiastrum is smooth to slightly hairy without mealy texture.; vs Atriplex: Chenopodium has perfect flowers; Atriplex has separate male/female flowers with paired bracts on fruits.; vs Blitum: Chenopodium has dry fruits; Blitum has fleshy, berry-like fruiting calyxes.; vs Amaranthus: Chenopodium has mealy coating; Amaranthus is smooth with dense bristly flower spikes.; vs Rumex: Chenopodium has 5-parted flowers in clusters; Rumex has 6-parted flowers in whorls.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chenopodium watsonii native to California?
Yes. Chenopodium watsonii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Chenopodium watsonii bloom?
Chenopodium watsonii blooms Jul-Oct.
What plant family does Chenopodium watsonii belong to?
Chenopodium watsonii is in the Chenopodiaceae family, genus Chenopodium.
What habitat does Chenopodium watsonii grow in?
Chenopodium watsonii grows in Woodland, scrub.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Chenopodium album — Lamb's quarters
- Chenopodium atrovirens — Dark green goosefoot
- Chenopodium aureum
- Chenopodium berlandieri — Pitseed goosefoot
- Chenopodium berlandieri var. sinuatum — Pitseed goosefoot
- Chenopodium berlandieri var. zschackei — Pit seed goosefoot
- Corispermum americanum var. americanum — American bugseed
- Corispermum sp. — Bugseed
- Cycloloma sp. — Winged pigweed
- Dysphania ambrosioides — Mexican tea
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.