Lamb's Quarters

Chenopodium album

Lamb’s-quarters is a mild, tender wild green, often treated as a local spinach stand-in. It is common in Maine gardens and disturbed ground.¹

Further notes

The powdery, pale coating on young leaves is one practical clue that distinguishes lamb’s-quarters from the coastal orache described below.¹

Lamb’s-quarters is a close relative of quinoa: Chenopodium album and Chenopodium quinoa share a genus. One is commonly gathered as a green in the Northeast while the other is usually encountered as a grainlike seed, but the botanical connection is quite direct.²

Footnotes

1. University of Maine Cooperative Extension, “Facts on Edible Wild Greens in Maine,” accessed July 17, 2026. ↩ ↩²

2. University of Illinois Extension, “Just What Is Quinoa?,” 2014. ↩