Fat-hen - Chenopodium album

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Fat-hen - Chenopodium album
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

This tall annual is a member of the beet and spinach family, commonly called goosefoots. Fat-hen leaves are lance shaped and grey-green. Both stems and leaves are covered with a white mealy substance. The small, greenish flowers grow in clusters. Fat-hen likes a soil rich in humus and old farmers regarded fat-hen growing in a potato field as a sign that it was time to grow some other crop there. The leaves are edible and were often used in the past as a green vegetable.

This is a good species for generalist caterpillars. It's also valuable for seed-eating birds like greenfinch, linnet, yellowhammer and house-sparrow. The name derives from the plant's reputed value in feeding poultry. Other popular names record its habit of growing on nutrient-rich soil, especially old manure heaps, including midden Myles, dirtweed, and the very down-to-earth: dirty Dick.

Animals

Butterflies, Greenfinch, House sparrow, Linnet, Moths, Yellowhammer

Foliage	Green
Flower	Green, July to October
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Full sun)
Origin	Native