Favoritos de camarondcg

Note: The 6 references below list this plant in the Genus Chenopodium. I-Nat (and Seek App) lists it as Genus Blitum. Taxon swap/name change occured in Sept 2019 (and the 6 references are older). https://www.inaturalist.org/taxon_changes/61961

California Goosefoot (Blitum californicum) Native, perennial plant in the Amaranths (Amaranthaceae) family that grows 20--90 cm (up 35 inches tall including tall flower spike) in open, sandy or clay soils. Unique leaves are 40--100 mm long, broadly deltate, coarsely dentate to wavy-toothed, base truncate to hastate or cordate with acute tip. Long flower spikes are up to 20 cm long. Spherical clusters of tiny flowers mature into reddish fruits which produce tiny black seeds. Peak bloom time: March-September.
Indigenous people had many uses for this plant as food, medicine, and soap. 13 traditional uses are described here: http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Chenopodium+californicum

Native American Ethnobotany: A database of plants used as drugs, foods, dyes, fibers, and more by Native People of North America http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Chenopodium+californicum and http://naeb.brit.org/

Leaf Shape and Arrangement diagrams: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 132-133.

Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=19155

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019, p. 93.

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 392.

Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/chenopodiaceae-chenopodium/

5-minute video of Fort Ord Flora and Fauna, produced by David Styer: https://fortordcleanup.com/archives/2020/natural-treasures-of-fort-ord-90-amazing-photographs/