Largefruit Amaranth

The hybrid between Amaranthus deflexus and A. muricatus was described from Europe as A. ×tarraconensis Sennen & Pau (see J. L. Carretero 1979) and may be expected in North America in the future in places of possible co-occurrence of the parental species.

Plants short-lived perennial or annual, pubescent in distal parts of plant or becoming glabrescent at maturity. Stems ascending or prostrate, profusely branched basally, radiating from rootstock, mostly 0.2-0.5 m. Leaves: petiole ¹/2 as long as to equaling blade; blade rhombic-ovate or ovate to lanceolate, 1-2 × 0.5-1 cm, base tapering or cuneate, margins entire, plane or slightly undulate, apex subacute, obtuse, or retuse or shallowly emarginate, mucronulate. Inflorescences terminal, erect, compact, pyramidal panicles and also some axillary clusters, green or silvery green, occasionally tinged with red, leafless at least distally. Bracts of pistillate flowers linear, 0.5-1 mm, ¹/2 as long as tepals. Pistillate flowers: tepals 2-3, narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, not clawed, equal or subequal, 1.2-2 mm, apex broadly acute; style branches erect; stigmas 3. Staminate flowers clustered at tips of inflorescences; tepals 2-3; stamens 2-3. Utricles marked with 2(-3) green lines that intersect at apex and divide fruit into halves or quarters, slightly to distinctly inflated, ellipsoid, 2-3 mm, distinctly longer than tepals, smooth (in dry plants wrinkled or rugose), indehiscent. Seeds very dark brown to black, 1-1.2 mm diam., shiny, filling only proximal portion of fruit.

Perennial herb, prostrate to somewhat ascending, (8-) 12-45 (-80) cm; stem slender to rather stout, usually much-branched from the base upwards, ± angular, green or reddish, glabrous below but usually increasingly furnished from well below the middle upwards with yellowish, flexuose or crisped multicellular hairs. Leaves moderately to ± densely furnished on the margins and lower surface (especially of the principal veins) with similar multicellular hairs, long-petiolate (petioles c. 6-25 mm but rarely if ever exceeding the lamina), lamina c. 1-4.5 x 0.5-2.5 cm, broadly ovate to lanceolate (most commonly rhomboid-ovate), subtruncate to shortly cuneate at the base, subacute to obtuse and sometimes shallowly retuse at the mucronulate apex. Flowers green, in slender and lax to stout and dense terminal and axillary spikes c. 2-10 cm long and 5-12 mm wide, the terminal spike not rarely with rather short, stout branches and the lowest inflorescences of dense subglobose clusters to c. 1 cm in diameter; male and female flowers intermixed, the male generally rather few. Bracts and bracteoles deltoid-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pale-membranous with a shortly percurrent greenish midrib; bracteoles usually about half the length of the perianth. Perianth segments 2-3, (1.2-) 1.5-.2 mm long, linear-to oblong-spathulate, obtuse to subacute, male and female similar or the male slightly more acute, pale-membranous with the thin to thick green midrib excurrent in a short, paler mucro. Stigmas 2-3, pale, slender, flexuose. Capsule ellipsoid, sometimes constricted above, 1.75-3 mm, obviously exceeding the perianth, scarcely compressed, smooth, indehiscent or irregularly rupturing at maturity. Seeds compressed-ellipsoid, c. 1-1.2 x 0.7-0.8 mm, black, shining and almost smooth, with a duller, slightly roughened border.

introduced; Ala., Calif., Fla., Ga., La., Mass., N.J., N.Y., Oreg., Pa., Tenn., Va.; native to South America; locally introduced or naturalized in tropical to warm-temperate regions of the globe.

Distribution: Probably a native of temperate S. America (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, S. Brazil), occurring as a weed in the eastern U.S.A. and California, Mexico etc., also widely naturalised in S. Europe, Mediterranean N. Africa, Macaronesia, tropical Africa (Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius etc.), and in Asia from Turkey to Middle Asia (Pamir-Alai) and Japan. In Pakistan so far restricted to a small area in the mid-West, ascending to at least 1500 m.

Flowering summer-fall.

Weedy areas, ballast heaps, railroads, other disturbed habitats; 0-500m.

deflexus: deflexed

Zizeeria knysna (Sooty blue)

Amaranthus deflexus L. Mant. 2: 295. 1771
Glomeraria deflexa Cav. Descr. 319. 1803.
Amaranthus prostratus Balbis, Mem. Acad. Turin 7: 360. 1804.
Euxolus deflexus Raf. Fl. Tell. 3: 42. 1837.
Albersia proslrata Kunth, Fl. Berol. 2: 144. 1838.
Stems slender, much branched, ascending or decumbent, glabrous, or villous above, green or purplish, 1.5-6 dm. long; petioles slender or stout, 6-25 mm. long; leafblades broadly ovate to rhombic-ovate or lanceolate, narrowed toward the apex, the tip obtuse, sometimes shallowly emarginate, rounded to cuneate at the base, deep-green, often purplish, glabrous, or sparsely villous beneath, prominently veined; flowers monoecious, chiefly in stout, dense, leafy or naked, terminal spikes 2-8 cm. long and 5-10 mm. thick, usually also in dense manyflowered axillary clusters; bracts ovate, acute, cuspidate, 2 mm. long, 1-nerved, green along the nerves ; stamens 3 ; style-branches 3 ; utricle oblong in outline, indehiscent, the walls fleshy, 3-5-nerved, smooth ; seed oval, 1 mm. long, dark reddish-brown, shining.
Type locality: Not stated.
Distribution: Adventive along the eastern coast of the United States from Massachusetts to Alabama, and in southern California; southern Mexico; also in South America, Europe, and. Africa.

Amaranthus deflexus is also known by the common names low amaranth, Argentina amaranth, perennial pigweed, and large-fruit amaranth. It is native to South America, and has been introduced to many other parts of the world. It is a short-lived perennial or annual plant. The plant can grow up to 1.5 ft (0.5 m) in height.

It flowers in the summer to fall. It has been introduced into many warm or temperate regions of the globe. It grows best in weedy areas or in disturbed habitats.

A natural hybrid of Amaranthus deflexus and Amaranthus muricatus has been described in Europe, and is known as Amaranthus × tarraconensis.