Fat Hen
Chenopodium album
Chenopodiaceae
Reported to be edible and medicinal.
Fat hen is one of the most widely distributed weed species in the world. It is related to commonly cultivated Vegetable crops, such as beetroot and silverbeet. It is a common weed in gardens, horticulture, agriculture, orchards and waste areas. Fat hen thrives in well‑drained cultivated soils; however, it tolerates a wide range of soil types and conditions. Fat hen is a large leafy annual up to 2.5 m high. Lower leaves are rhombic (a 2‑dimensional diamond‑shaped figure) to ovate, grading into elliptic (oval) to linear (narrow) up the stem. The small flowers are radially symmetrical and grow in small cymes on a dense branched inflorescence 10–40 cm long. Plants produce both dormant and ready‑to‑germinate seeds, with approximate seed quantities ranging from 200 to 75,000 seeds per plant. Dormant seed can remain viable in the soil for decades. Allelopathic effects (reduced growth) have been reported for a number of important crops, such as maize, soyabeans, carrots, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, sunflowers, lettuce and squash. Fat hen is also resistant to multiple herbicides.
Fat hen is apparently attractive to leaf miners and is used as a trap crop for this purpose. It is also a host plant for the beet leafhopper, an insect which transmits curly top virus to beet crops. Aphids are also attracted to fat hen. Fat hen is a known host of viruses, some of which include cucumber mosaic virus, bean yellow mosaic virus, potato virus, tobacco etch virus, turnip mosaic virus, beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), peanut stunt cucumovirus, prunus necrotic ring spot virus, beet yellows virus (BYV) and watermelon mosaic virus. BYV is reported to be transmitted by Myzus persicae (Green peach aphid). Nematodes include northern root-knot (nematode Meloidogyne halpa and potato root-knot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor). Fat hen is a host for the common stalkborer. Caterpillars known to feed on fat hen leaves include Amyna octo (Eight spot) and Theclinesthes serpentatus (Chequered or Saltbush Blue).