Found this little thing growing in my garden. Can anyone tell me what it is? Please and thanks.
Underside of the leaves:
Underside of the leaves:
Identification of weed in garden
- Thread starter veggietreeigrl
- Start date
-looks a bit like black nightshade.
What we call pig weed in this neck of the woods.
Really looks like lambs quarters to me. When young the leaves have a lemony taste to me.Found this little thing growing in my garden. Can anyone tell me what it is? Please and thanks.
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/lambs-quarters.aspx
I think lambs quarters and pig weed are the same thing.
From my research, pig weed is a poisonous plant and there are also several different plants that are referred to as pig weed. The red root of pig weed readily distinguishes it from lambs quarters which is an edible weed.
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/poison/plants/pppigwe.htm
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- #7
Whatever it was, I pulled it and tossed it just to be safe. Thanks all. 
If it is Lambs Quarters (alias pig weed) it's supposed to be a very tasty salad green and chicken fodder. Would make a nice substitute for spinach. It sets seeds just like spinach does.
Common lambsquarters are Chenopodium album. In some regions people call them pigweed, but it's sort of a misnomer. All true pigweeds are from the genus Amaranthus (wild amaranths). They look somewhat similar. Both plants are edible for humans. Just make sure to use pigweed less than a foot tall, and boil them first as they're high in oxalates. I have noticed that chickens will eagerly eat the young pigweed seedlings, but are much less eager to eat mature plants, whereas they'll happily pick a giant lambsquarters bush clean. I eat plenty of both of these plants, and so do my chickens. Young lambsquarters leaves are good in a fresh salad. They are my chickens' favorite weeds, along with purslane.
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Thanks so much for the education. The plant I'm familiar with is lambs quarters, however, I grew up calling it pig weed. I have been edified! I have yet to try eating it. will have to try it this spring. That's on my bucket list: to learn to identify all of the native wild edibles and add them to my dinner plate. Ever tried fresh cat-nine-tail shoots? They taste a bit like cucumber.
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