Chenopodium album subsp. karoi Murr, Neue Übers. Farn- u Bl.Pfl. Vorarlberg 97 (1923); Chenopodium prostratum Bunge in Herder, Acta Horti Petrop. 10: 594. 1889, non Schultes 1820; Iljin & Aellen in Kom., Fl. URSS 6: 69. 1936; Grubov, Pl. As. Centr. 2: 23. 1966; R.R.Stewart, Ann. Cat. Vasc. Pl. W. Pak. & Kashm. 221. 1972; Kung & Chu in Kung & Tsien, Fl. Reip. Pop. Sin. 25, 2: 92. 1979.

Annual to 25(-35) cm; stems with bent to curved base, ascending-procumbent, yellowish to green-striped, sometimes partly with red, usually basally branched, lowermost branches subopposite, ascending, upper branches few. Leaf blade 1.5-2.5(-3.0) cm, ovate to broadly ovate to trullate or elliptic, somewhat longer than broad, slightly 3-lobed, ± farinose especially below, lobes rounded, margin entire, rarely with a few minute teeth, base short attenuate, apex obtuse to acute. Inflorescence paniculate, mostly leafy and on short branches; glomerules small, loose to dense. Perianth lobes 5, green, farinose, connate to the middle, keeled on back. Stamens 5 or 0. Stigmas 2. Pericarp fairly loose to ± adherent. Seeds horizontal, black, 1.1-1.3 mm in diameter, round in outline, margin fairly obtuse; testa with radial furrows and elongated shallow pits especially near the margin.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: May - August.

Type: Described from Siberia.

Fields, open forests, river banks. 2400-3600 m; Distribution: N Hindukush, Pamir, Karakoram, Himalayas, C Asia, Siberia, China.

C. karoi has bent or curved base of stem, usually several basal branches, and the leaves are mostly somewhat three-lobed. Some specimens have more elongated stems with laxer and less leafy inflorescence, in view of this their identification is somewhat uncertain. C. karoi may be difficult to distinguish from small specimens of C. album and C. atripliciforme with almost entire leaves. Small specimens of C. karoi may be confused with C. pamiricum.