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lamb's-quarter

lamb's-quarter

9.9
A wild leafy plant with edible leaves often used like spinach
  • noun
  • /læmz ˈkwɔrtər/
translation icon : purslane
  • Many traditional recipes use the tender leaves of lamb's-quarter as a substitute for spinach.
  • lamb's-quarters and violet

Examples

  • The bland, spinach-like leaves of lamb's-quarter can be sautéed or added to salads for extra nutrition.

  • In the spring, foragers often collect lamb's-quarter from fields and gardens before it goes to seed.

  • I picked some lamb's-quarter from the garden.

  • Have you ever tried lamb's-quarter in a salad?

  • In the summer, we often forage for lamb's-quarter to add to our salads.

  • The chef included lamb's-quarter in the dish, celebrating its unique flavor.

  • Foraging for lamb's-quarter has become popular among those seeking fresh, wild ingredients.

Synonyms

Chenopodium album
vslamb's-quarter
  • Specialized
8.3

A common wild plant with soft green leaves you can cook and eat like spinach, also called lamb's quarters

focuses on being a wild leafy plant foraged for food
lamb's-quarters
vslamb's-quarter
  • US
9.2

A wild green plant with leaves you can eat like spinach

has identical meaning but uses a different form or spelling
wild spinach
vslamb's-quarter
3.9

Green leaves that grow wild and people collect to eat

is the specific species often collected as wild food rather than general greens

Surface Forms

Etymology

Lamb's-quarter probably comes from the old harvest name Lammas, which over time began to sound like lamb, and from quarter meaning a season or part of the year. So lamb's-quarter became the name for a common wild leafy plant that people would gather and eat around the harvest.