Chenopodium rubrumL.

Alkali bliteCoastblite goosefootRed goosefootRed pigweedred goosefoot

WFO wfo-0000601735 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Chenopodium rubrum, photographed by evgeniq_benihanov
fig. a evgeniq_benihanov, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-09-18 / obs. 160727293

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

The specimen a real sheet, in a real collection

Herbarium
The New York Botanical Garden
Accession
537282
Filed as
Chenopodium rubrum L.
Det. by
N. H. Holmgren 1992-01-01
Collected
A. Tiehm 1984-08-23
Origin
US
The sheet
View the digitised specimen (CC BY 4.0)

A real pressed plant, in a real collection, under the accession number above. Not an illustration of one. The holding institution does not serve this sheet’s image to third parties, so there is no photograph here. The record is real and the link goes to it. Where we hold no openly licensed sheet for a species this section is simply absent, and where a sheet never recorded who determined it, that field stays empty rather than being filled in. Roughly half of all herbarium sheets never recorded a determiner, which is ordinary.

Native range 97 botanical countries

Regions where Chenopodium rubrum is native: Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, Chita, Cyprus, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Irkutsk, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Palestine, Primorye, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Krym, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Mexico Northeast, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AfghanistanAltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChitaCyprusInner MongoliaIranIrkutskKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskLebanon-SyriaManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPalestinePrimoryeTadzhikistanTranscaucasusTurkmenistanTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFranceGermanyHungaryIrelandItalyKrymNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraineAlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutIdahoIowaKansasMaineManitobaMassachusettsMexico NortheastMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOhioOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaQuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaUtahWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon Rhode I.
Native distribution of Chenopodium rubrum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Idaho IDA
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Northeast MXE
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Utah UTA
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
Chita CTA
Cyprus CYP
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Irkutsk IRK
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Tadzhikistan TZK
Transcaucasus TCS
Turkmenistan TKM
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Hungary HUN
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Ukraine UKR

Not drawn on the map: Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,973 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -20.1 °C -9.0 °C 2.8 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 18.9 °C 23.0 °C 27.6 °C
Annual rainfall 397 mm 652 mm 949 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 47 mm 108 mm 185 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,973 research-grade observations of Chenopodium rubrum that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 34 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agathophytum rubrum (L.) Rchb.
  • Blitum acuminatum Schur
  • Blitum maritimum Nutt.
  • Blitum polymorphum C.A.Mey.
  • Blitum polymorphum var. humile (Hook.) Moq.
  • Blitum polymorphum var. rubrum (L.) Beck
  • Blitum rubrum (L.) Rchb.
  • Blitum rubrum (L.) C.A.Mey.
  • Blitum rubrum var. crassicaule Moq.
  • Blitum rubrum var. humile (Hook.) Moq.
  • Blitum rubrum var. hypoleucum Speg.
  • Blitum rubrum var. macrospermum (Hook.f.) Speg.
  • Botrys humilis (Hook.) Lunell
  • Botrys rubra (L.) Lunell
  • Chenopodium acuminatum Schur
  • Chenopodium astracanium Ledeb.
  • Chenopodium blitoides Lej.
  • Chenopodium humile Hook.
  • Chenopodium macrocarpum var. elongatum P.Y.Fu & W.Wang
  • Chenopodium macrocarpum var. microstachyum P.Y.Fu & W.Wang
  • Chenopodium macrocarpum var. rubrum P.Y.Fu & W.Wang
  • Chenopodium macrospermum Moq.
  • Chenopodium matthioli Bertol. ex Moq.
  • Chenopodium patulum Mérat

and 10 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.