Oxybasis rubra
red pigweed
Holarctic: Europe, temperate Asia, and North America
Native to North America
Overview
Oxybasis rubra, red pigweed or red goosefoot (formerly Chenopodium rubrum), is an annual in the family Amaranthaceae growing 4-32 inches (10-80 cm) tall, with erect to sprawling, often red-tinged stems. The fleshy, hairless leaves are diamond- to triangular-shaped, 0.8-3 inches (2-8 cm) long, with coarsely toothed margins and frequently a reddish flush, especially late in the season. From summer into autumn dense, branched clusters of tiny greenish to red flowers form leafy spikes along the upper stems; each flower is petal-less, with five small tepals, and barely 0.05 inch (1-2 mm) wide. The seeds are minute, lens-shaped, and produced in great numbers. It is a fast-growing colonist of bare, nutrient-rich, and disturbed ground, including manured field margins, pond edges, ditch banks, and the drift lines of brackish marshes, where it tolerates both salinity and high soil nitrogen. As a true annual it completes its cycle in one season and relies on a persistent seed bank. The young leaves are edible when cooked, like those of its relative fat-hen.
Native Range
Oxybasis rubra has a wide Holarctic range across Europe, temperate Asia, and North America, growing on disturbed, fertile, and brackish ground. It also follows cultivation and waste places well beyond its original range.Suggested Uses
It has little ornamental use and is chiefly a wild plant of fertile, disturbed, and brackish ground. The young shoots are edible cooked, and the abundant seed feeds finches and other seed-eating birds.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height4" - 2'8"
Width/Spread8" - 1'4"
Bloom Information
Flowering runs from July into October, with crowded clusters of minute greenish to red flowers along the leafy stems. The flowers have no petals and are wind-pollinated and largely self-fertile, so they pass unnoticed. Vast numbers of tiny seeds ripen through autumn and persist in the soil for years.
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
greenish to redFoliage Description
green, often red-flushedGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Water & Climate
Water Needs