Chenopodium hybridum

Scientific Name	Chenopodium hybridum L.
Common Names	English: Maple-leaved goosefoot; German: Bastard-Gänsefuß; French: Chénopode hybride; Spanish: Cenizo híbrido
Description	Annual, unpleasant-smelling, seed-propagated weed.

Characteristic Features

Very big leaves, coarse-dentated, not mealy covered.

Cotyledons

Long oval, petiolate.

Stems

Hairless, sometimes farinaceous, with spread-apart ramifications in the upper part, up to 100 cm tall.

Leaves

Large up to 20 cm (7.87 inch), cordate at the base, triangular, coarsely toothed or lobed, acuminate.

Flowers

Glomerules in paniculiform inflorescence, leafless at the top.

Flowering Period

End of spring - early autumn.

Fruit

One-seeded achene.

Seeds

Dull black, lens-shaped, 1.5 mm (0.059 inch) or more in diameter, and covered with thin tissue that rubs off. Germination in spring.

Viability of Seeds

Seeds persist more than 10 years in the soil.

Propagation

By seeds. Seeds per plant: 1,000-15,000.

Habitat

Fence rows and waste areas, row crops, ways, gardens.

Soil

Primarily on nitrogen-rich, friable soils in warm regions.

Agricultural Importance

Ch. hybridum causes high yield losses due to strong competition for light, nutrients and water. Compared with Chenopodium album it prefers higher temperatures.

Useful non-chemical contribution to Integrated Weed Management

Because of its persistence in the seed bank it is important to prevent seed rain.