Plants : ChenopodiaceaeFerns and Flowering Plants

Chenopodium album agg. L.

Fat Hen

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Chenopodium album agg.

Description: Fat hen (it was formerly used as a food for hens) is the commonest of all the goosefoots, which is the general name for Chenopodium species. Like many of the genus, it is covered by a silver-grey coating of swollen hairs giving it what is called a 'mealy' appearance.

It is a common weed of cultivated land, waste tips and disturbed soil.

All names: Chenopodium album agg. L.; Chenopodium reticulatum Aellen

Distribution Map from NBN: Chenopodium album agg. at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Chenopodium album agg. at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

 Hackney, P., 2026. Chenopodium album agg.. L.. [In] Flora of Northern Ireland.
https://habitas.org/flora/species.php?item=3091. Accessed on 2026-11-02.