Chenopodium altissimum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 221. 1753; Lerchea altissima (Linnaeus) Medikus; Schoberia leiosperma C. A. Meyer.

Herbs annual, to 1 m tall. Stem erect, much branched, stout; branches obliquely spreading, terete, slightly ribbed. Leaves dense, filiform, usually irregularly curved, semiterete, 0.5-2 cm × 0.6-0.8 mm, base constricted into short petiole, apex acuminate. Glomerules inserted on petiole, 2-5-flowered or more. Flowers bisexual. Perianth obovoid to subglobose, 1-1.4 mm; segments ovate to suborbicular, abaxially fleshy near apex, slightly cucullate, margin membranous. Stamens 5, usually not all developed; anthers shortly oblong, 0.4-0.5 mm. Style obscure; stigmas usually 3, plumose. Utricle enclosed in perianth; pericarp brown, membranous. Seed vertical, black, ovoid, ca. 1.2 mm, obscurely pitted, rim margin obtuse; radicle inferior. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Gobi desert, wastelands, pool banks. N Xinjiang [Russia (SW Siberia); C and SW Asia, S Europe].