Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Chenopodium atrovirens is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names pinyon goosefoot and dark goosefoot. It is native to western North America, including southern Western Canada and most of the Western United States. It grows in many types of habitat, including open, sandy sites and disturbed areas, and in montane regions such as the Sierra Nevada, Peninsular Ranges, and Rocky Mountains. It is an annual herb growing an erect, branching stem up to about 60 centimeters tall, sometimes remaining much smaller. It is green to magenta in color and coated lightly in pinkish powdery dust. The leaves are oblong or oval and up to 3. 5 centimeters long. They have smooth edges and sometimes have a few lobes. The inflorescence is a rounded cluster of many minute flowers. Each tiny flower has five slightly powdery lobes in its corolla, each barely visible. The fruit is oval in shape and about a millimeter long, coating the tiny seed loosely.

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

3 - 24 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Green

Plant communities

Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Red Fir Forest, Yellow Pine Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 15 likely

Confirmed Likely

Garden Webworm Moth

Achyra rantalis

Alfalfa Looper Moth

Autographa californica

Western Pygmy Blue

Brephidium exilis