Nature notes: red goosefoot

Red goosefoot is standing two-foot high on middens and dung-heaps, where those are still to be found. It can also be seen at well-manured edges of stubble fields and ploughland. It is a sturdy plant with jagged, fleshy leaves, and tiny reddish flowers or seeds in clusters all the way up the red-striped stalk. The leaves are also sometimes tinged with red and it brings some fresh autumn colour to fields and farmyards. The goosefoots are a family of plants that were often eaten in the past. Red goosefoot has been called French spinach. Another member of the family that can be seen in the fields in autumn is fat hen, or white goosefoot. It is taller than red goosefoot, and has tiny white flowers,