Plant identification

I'm a little stumped on this guy.  At first I thought maybe Orach, but the seeds aren't quite right.  I don't think it's native up here.  I spread a bunch of garden-variety seeds everywhere this spring, orach may have been in that.  But I don't know!  Thoughts?  Gravel substrate, SE facing slope, growing amongst large boulders.

Chenopodium capitatum?

Tyler Ludens wrote:Chenopodium capitatum?

It does look VERY close!  However, the flowering stalks on our plant are red and every photo I'm seeing on the Strawberry Blight have solid green stalks.  I wonder if it's a similar subspecies?

Strawberry Blite?

Looks the same as Tyler’s suggestion.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitum_capitatum

I'd have to vote for strawberry spinach (Chenopodium capitatum) as well, though you are right that the photos I've seen have green stems.  It seems like the variety I've grown has green stems as well.  Still, the "fruit" is so unique and the leaves match I have a hard time believing it could be anything else.

yup the red vs. green stem (and slightly redding leaves) was the only discrepancy.  I was looking into various species of goosefoot, but those photos look much more akin to this plant.

I wonder how it cropped up here!  It's the first we've ever seen it.  Seems like it may be a worthwhile plant to propagate?

I'd certainly recommend trying to propagate it and consider you lucky to get it growing wild at your place, though it is native to many regions of the US according to my wild edibles plant book.  I actually purchased seeds from Baker Creek Seeds to try and get it going on my property with limited success thus far.

Jen, did you have any significant soil disturbance in that spot?  I think it was in one of Samuel Thayer's books that I'd read that the seeds for this plant have very great longevity and can sit in the soil seed bank too deep down for germination waiting for a chance to somehow get closer to the surface.  Anyhow, congrats....I'd love to see it make a miraculous appearance at my place!  I'll probably have to seed it in as I've never seen it anywhere near me.

Greg Martin wrote:Jen, did you have any significant soil disturbance in that spot?  I think it was in one of Samuel Thayer's books that I'd read that the seeds for this plant have very great longevity and can sit in the soil seed bank too deep down for germination waiting for a chance to somehow get closer to the surface.  Anyhow, congrats....I'd love to see it make a miraculous appearance at my place!  I'll probably have to seed it in as I've never seen it anywhere near me.

I'll definitely be saving seeds!  We've had loads of rain this year, we did excavate in this area last year but the excavation is like 20' down the hill from this spot.  That was significant!  Also this area was a goat pasture last spring, so they erode and move stuff around.  Cool!  I appreciate the help with ID everyone :)  Thanks!