Lambs Quarters
Chenopodium album
-30
Harmful
Native to Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- 1–6 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Louisiana.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Spread · Bloom
Recorded in 36 Louisiana parishes.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
32CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · Chenopodium
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Apantesis partheniceParthenice Tiger Moth
- Blepharomastix ranalisHollow-Spotted Blepharomastix Moth
- Burnsius communisCommon Checkered-Skipper
- Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
Show all 32
- Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
- Epiblema strenuanaRagweed Borer
- Feltia repletaReplete Dart
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pholisora catullusCommon Sootywing
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Staphylus hayhurstiiHayhurst's Scallopwing, Scalloped Sooty Wing, Scalloped Sootywing
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Virbia aurantiacaOrange Virbia, Orange Holomelina
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
14BirdsRecorded eating Chenopodium in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, most records first.
- Mourning DoveSeeds. 14 diet records
- Brown-headed Cowbird5 diet records
- Red-winged Blackbird4 diet records
- Vesper Sparrow4 diet records
- Wild Turkey4 diet records
- American WigeonSeeds. 2 diet records
- Virginia RailSeeds. 2 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- Brewer's Blackbird1 diet record
- Lapland Longspur1 diet record
Show all 14
- Ring-necked DuckSeeds. 1 diet record
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-crowned SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Yellow-throated Vireo1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Chenopodium 14
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- Yellow-throated VireoVireo flavifrons
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Yellow, green or pink
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Yellow, green or pink” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–6 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Louisiana rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Louisiana occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications