fat hen

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fat hen A common wild plant (Chenopodium album); the leaves have a strong scent of chrysanthemum leaves when crushed, and can be used in soup or fried as a vegetable. The name comes from the fact that it was formerly used to feed hens. The seeds can be ground into a flour for preparation of bread, cakes, and gruel; they have a flavour similar to that of buckwheat. Also known as bacon weed, dirty dick, muck hill, or dung weed (because it commonly grows around dung heaps), goose foot (because of the shape of the leaves), and pig weed.