Any of a group of plants belonging to the goosefoot family, closely related to spinach and beets. The seeds of white goosefoot (
C. album) were used as food in Europe from Neolithic times, and also from early times in the Americas. White goosefoot grows to 1 m/3 ft tall and has lance- or diamond-shaped leaves and packed heads of small inconspicuous flowers. The green part is eaten as a spinach substitute. (Genus
Chenopodium, family Chenopodiaceae.)
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