Lamb's quarters

Chenopodium album is a fast-growing weedy annual plant. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed.

It tends to grow upright at first, reaching heights of 10–150 cm (rarely to 3 m), but typically becomes recumbent after flowering (due to the weight of the foliage and seeds) unless supported by other plants. The leaves are alternate and varied in appearance. The first leaves, near the base of the plant, are toothed and roughly diamond-shaped, 3–7 cm long and 3–6 cm broad. The leaves on the upper part of the flowering stems are entire and lanceolate-rhomboid, 1–5 cm long and 0.4–2 cm broad; they are waxy-coated, unwettable and mealy in appearance, with a whitish coat on the underside. The small flowers are radially symmetrical and grow in small cymes on a dense branched inflorescence 10–40 cm long.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 180 kJ (43 kcal)

Carbohydrates 7.3 g

Dietary fiber 4 g

Fat 0.8 g

Protein 4.2 g

Vitamins

Vitamin A equiv. (73%) 580 μg

Thiamine (B1)    (14%) 0.16 mg

Riboflavin (B2)   (37%) 0.44 mg

Niacin (B3)    (8%) 1.2 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5) (2%) 0.092 mg

Vitamin B6    (21%) 0.274 mg

Folate (B9)    (8%) 30 μg

Vitamin C    (96%) 80 mg

Minerals

Calcium       (31%) 309 mg

Iron               (9%) 1.2 mg

Magnesium   (10%) 34 mg

Manganese   (37%) 0.782 mg

Phosphorus   (10%) 72 mg

Potassium     (10%) 452 mg

Sodium       (3%) 43 mg

Zinc            (5%) 0.44 mg

Usually I pick the smaller younger leaves at the top of the bush and add them to my salads. 

It is also called "Wild Spinach". The older and tougher leaves can be cooked like spinach. It tastes great if you add some onion and/or potato with it!