Stinking Goosefoot - introduced (*Chenopodium vulvaria)

Other names: Foetid Goosefoot.

Family: Chenopodiaceae (Saltbush family)

Native of Europe.

Occurrence: An uncommon species in Victoria, and seldom reported.

Identification:

• it is a prostrate plant, with stems to half a metre long
• it has an obnoxious odour (like rotten fish) when crushed
• the leaves are oval to diamond shaped, and are mealy (i.e. with small white scales) on the under surface
• the flowers are small, without obvious petals, and densely clustered at the ends of branches and branchlets.

The prostrate habit and the odour make this a distinctive plant.

Name. Chenopodium: Goosefoot; cheno: goose; pod: foot, the leaves of some species have the appearance of a goose's foot.

Photos: 1: Stinking Goosefoot. Midland Highway, Guildford. The stems were prostrate, and radiating from the root. This weed was probably brought in during road construction.
2: Portion of a plant. Guildford.