Amaranthus spinosus
Common names
spiny amaranth
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Green
Similar taxa
Stems upright, branched, up to 90 cm tall, reddish, bearing spines at the bases of the leaf stalks. Leaves alternate, simple, dull green, ovate-lanceolate to ovate. Flowers small, green, in numerous long spikes. Terminal spike often wholly or chiefly staminate; axillary flower clusters mostly pistilate (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Year naturalised
1975
Origin
N. America, Europe
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds egg-shaped, shiny black, notched at one end, about 0.7 to 1 mm wide (Wax, Fawcett and Isely 1981).
Other information
Etymology
amaranthus: From the Greek a- ‘without’ or ‘lacking’ and maraino ‘to fade’, meaning unfading and referring to the durability of the flowers of some species
spinosus: Spiny