Single Record

Counties: Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

PhotoRecords: YES Rich Haswell, Mineral Co, 2 miles S of Creede, 23 July 2020; Rio Grande Co, Del Norte street side 18 Sept 2022

Comments: Pitseed goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri) is well represented in the Watershed with vouchers, on both sides of the Watershed. Judging from collections, it is much more common than lambsquarter (Chenopodium album), with which C. berlandieri shares that same habitats—including streets and alleys of towns—and from which C. berlandieri can be distinguished by its honeycombed fruits. Note that the species shows a great deal of variation, especially in leaf and plant shape. In the field the quickest identification is by knocking a mature branch against your open hand. Seeds will readily fall out, showing their pitted surface. (Another Watershed species of Chenopodium with pitted seeds is C. watsonii, but usually the seeds will not separate from from their sepals or their their pericarp). C. berlandieri is present in all USA states (least of all in the South), and follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. For more photos and commentary noting the importance of this goosefoot in Amerindian cultures, click "yes" in the Annotation field below.