Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Dysphania cristata

Leafy stems with seed cases. Photographer Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, western NSW

Plant. Photographer Don Wood, Scotia Sanctuary, western NSW

Line drawings (as Chenopodium cristatum). o. leaf; seed case. M Moir, National Herbarium of Victoria, © 2021 Royal Botanic Gardens Board 

Common name

Crested Goosefoot, Crested Crumbweed

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, dunes, and moist sites. Greater Sydney area. Western Slopes mosty west and north of the area covered by this key.

Notes

Annual herb, prostrate or to 0.30 m tall, covered with glandular and other hairs.  Leaves pleasantly aromatic when rubbed, alternating along the stems, 0.5-3 cm long, 3–15 mm wide, hairy to sparsely hairy, often sticky, margins entire, toothed, lobed, or wavy.  Flowers bisexual or female, small, with 5 'petals' shortly united at the base. 'Petals' with a prominent fringed vertical crest or keel, triangular in longitudinal section. Flowers in dense whitish clusters.  

Was Chenopodium cristatum.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Dysphania~cristata (accessed 12 January, 2019)