Plants usually monoecious, rarely unisexual, annual or perennial, nonaromatic (but sometimes foetid) herbs, shrubs or small trees; young stems and leaves often densely farinose, i.e. covered with vesicular globose trichomes, which later collapse forming a cup shaped structure. Stems erect or ascending, prostrate or scrambling, branched; branches alternate or the lowermost ones sometimes subopposite. Leaves alternate or opposite, petiolate; blades thin to thickish, sometimes somewhat fleshy, linear to trullate, rhombic or triangular-hastate, margins entire to dentate or lobed. Inflorescences terminal and lateral, ebracteate or with bract-like leaves, composed of compact or loose glomerules of flowers arranged spicately or paniculately, sometimes in part single. Flowers in monoecious plants dimorphic, bisexual or pistillate; perianths sometimes coloured, mostly unchanged in fruit, segments (4 –)5, connate near the base or close to the middle, usually with membranous margins, backs and roundish to keeled, in fruit somewhat closing or spreading; stamens almost always 5, style branches 2. Fruits with membranous or sometimes succulent pericarpa, firmly adherent to or ± easily removable from the seed; seeds horizontal, depressed-globular to lenticular, margin rounded to subacute, testa black, almost smooth to finely striate, rugulose or variously pitted.

Chenopodium as described above, excludes several species that used to be included in the genus.  The paper cited explains why the authors recommend adopting a more restricted interpretation of the genus and provides a key and descriptions to the segregate genera. 

I. Friis & M.G. Gilbert

Plants annual or perennial herbs; synoecious, monoecious and flowers dimorphic, or dioecious. Stems erect, ascending, prostrate, or scrambling; young stems and leaves often densely farinose (covered with white, globose trichomes which collapse forming a cup-shaped structure). Leaves mostly alternate, sometimes opposite to subopposite, usually broad and petiolate; blades thin or thickish, sometimes somewhat fleshy, linear to trullate, rhombic, or triangular hastate, margins entire to dentate or lobed. Inflorescences terminal and lateral, the flowers in compact or loose glomerules arranged, spicately or paniculatately, sometimes some single; bracts absent, bract-like leaves sometimes present. Flowers unisexual or bisexual; perianths sometimes colored but otherwise usually unchanged in fruit; tepals (4-)5, connate at the base or to the middle, backs round to keeled, margins usually membranous; stamens usually 5; styles usually 2-branched. Fruits with membranous or succulent pericarps, firmly adherent to or easily removed from the seeds; seeds horizontal, depressed globular to lenticular, margins rounded to subacutre; seed walls (testa) black, almost smooth to tinely striate, rugulose, or variously pitted. 

The above description of Chenopodium has been modified to reflect the narrower interpretation of the genus recommended by Fuentes et al. (2012). Based on this interpretation, the genus now includes about 130 species of which 2 have been reported for Somaliland. Because both species are frequently weeds in cultivated areas, they are likely to be found also in Somalia.  

Key to the two species of Chenopodium included in the Flora of Somalia.

The key to the genera of Amaranthaceae for Somalilanad and Somalia has been modified to reflect interpretaton of Fuentes et l. (2012). 

GBIF recognizes the segregate genera as recommended by Fuentes et al., consequently no global distribution is provided here. Eventually, OpenHerbarium will be modified to reflect acceptance of the segregates. 

Fuentes-Bazan S., P. Uotila & T. Borsch (2012) A novel phylogeny-based generic classification for Chenopodium sensu lato, and a tribal rearrangement of Chenopodioideae (Chenopodiaceae). Willdenowia 42: 5 – 24. June 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.3372/wi42.42101.