We are acquiring the wild relatives of cultivated spinach as part of our investment in crop germplasm. Some of these relatives are native in the United States, and thus should be readily accessible for collecting. We intend to aid research by conserving and distributing seeds of these plants. Three genera of North American spinach relatives are briefly described below. The germplasm should be useful to study phylogenetic relationships, the host ranges of pathogens and pests, stress tolerance, and many other topics.