Wild Spinach (বথুয়া শাক) - Chenopodium album

Common Name :	Wild Spinach.
Binomial Name :	Chenopodium album
Family :	Amaranthaceae
Bangla Name :	Bothua Shak (বথুয়া শাক)
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

Botanical Identity

Chenopodium album, commonly known as Bathua, White Goosefoot, or Lamb's Quarters, is a fast-growing leafy annual plant in the Amaranthaceae family (formerly Chenopodiaceae). Native to Europe and parts of Asia, it has spread across the globe and is now found as both a cultivated vegetable and a wild weed in temperate and subtropical regions. In Bangladesh, where it is popularly known as Bathua or Bothua (বথুয়া শাক), the plant is widely used in winter cuisines and traditional remedies.

Plant Description and Growth Habit

Bathua is a bushy, erect annual herb, typically growing between 30 and 150 cm tall. The leaves are variable in shape—triangular to diamond-shaped—with a powdery white coating on the undersides, especially on younger leaves. The stem is often ribbed and green, sometimes with reddish streaks. The plant is hardy and thrives in disturbed soils, farmlands, gardens, and roadsides, flourishing particularly in the cooler months of the year. Now a days a hybrid colorful version of Bathua is found in Bangladesh which farmers use it for cultivation.

Flowers and Seed Characteristics

The plant produces tiny, greenish flowers arranged in dense, spike-like clusters at the ends of branches and in leaf axils. These inconspicuous flowers are mostly wind-pollinated and give rise to small, black, lentil-shaped seeds enclosed in a thin, papery covering. The seeds are edible and have historically been used as a grain substitute. Though flowering usually occurs in late autumn, Chenopodium album is best harvested for its tender leaves before it bolts.

Uses and Nutritional Significance

Bathua is highly valued as a nutritious green leafy vegetable, rich in iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate. In Indian cuisine, it is commonly used in parathas, saag (leafy curries), raitas, and soups. In Bangladesh as a stir fry. Beyond its culinary use, it is also used in traditional medicine for aiding digestion, improving liver function, and treating skin conditions. Despite being labeled a weed in some regions, Chenopodium album plays a dual role as both a valuable food plant and a resilient survivor in diverse environments.


Photos of this article were taken from Jamalpur, Bangladesh. It was during the month of January 2016. Usually the farmers do not cultivate this in Jamalpur. This comes as a weed along with other seeds. Also it grows from the seeds which were left in the field from last year. Women usually forage around the fields and collect this scattered vegeratable. In some part of Bangladesh the farmers cultivate this as a crop as it has a demand in the cities.


Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog icflora.blogspot.com