392 AMARANTHACEAE 



7. Amaranthus hybridus L. Foliage glabrous or sparingly pubescent, dark green 

 or purplish. Stems erect or ascending, 5-25 dm. tall, more or less branched, not spine- 

 armed : leaf-blades ovate to ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, 3-12 cm. long, acutish or somewhat 

 acuminate, with prominent often hairy nerves beneath ; petioles as long as the blades or 

 shorter : spikes bristly, panicled, especially at the ends of the branches : bracts subulate : 

 sepals about i as long as the bracts, oblong, acute or cuspidate : stamens 5 : utricle sur- 

 passing the calyx, scarcely wrinkled, circumscissle : seeds fully 1 mm. long. 



In waste places or cultivated grounds, North America, except the extreme north. Naturalized 

 from tropical America. 



8. Amaranthus spinosus L. Foliage glabrous or nearly so, dark green. Stems 

 ascending or spreading, often diffusely branched, 2-12 dm. long, usually firm-fleshy: leaf- 

 blades ovate, rhombic-ovate or lanceolate above, 1.5-8 cm. long, entire, commonly cuneate 

 at the base ; petioles as long as the blades or shorter, with a pair of spines at the bases : 

 spikes erect or nodding, closely flowered : bracts subulate-lanceolate : sepals 2 mm. long, 

 about as long as the bracts, oblong, mucronate, 1-nerved : stamens 5 : utricle nearly as long 

 as the sepals, imperfectly circumscissile : seeds about 1 mm. long. 



In waste places and cultivated soil, Massachusetts to Kansas, Florida and Mexico. Naturalized 

 from tropical America. 



9 Amaranthus blitoides S. Wats. Foliage glabrous or nearly so, pale green. Stems 

 branched at the base, the branches spreading or prostrate, 1-6 dm. long, commonly form- 

 ing wide mats : leaf-blades spatulate to elliptic, 1-2 cm. long, narrowed into slender 

 petioles ; these longer than tlie blades or usually shorter : flower-clusters axillary, sur- 

 passed by the leaves : bracts subulate-lanceolate : sepals 2.5-3 mm. long, oblong or oblong- 

 lanceolate, acute or cuspidate : stamens 3 : utricle as long as the calyx or slightly longer, 

 circumscissile : seeds 1.5-2 mm. long. 



In waste places and dry grounds. Maine to Minnesota, Utah, New Jersey, Texas and Arizona. — A 

 variety with very slender branches, narrow leaf-blades and a red-topped utricle has been described as 

 A. blitoides Rever'chbnii Uline and Bray. Central Texas. 



10. Amaranthus dlbus L. Foliage glabrous, pale green. Stems erect, becoming 

 widely and diffusely branched, 1-6 dm. tall, the branches ascending or spreading : leaf- 

 blades spatulate, obovate or oblong, 1-3 cm. long, mucronate ; petioles shorter than the 

 blades : spikes much shorter tiian the leaves : flowers polygamous, in axillary clusters : 

 bracts firm, awn-tipped : sepals 3 : stamens 3 : utricle surpassing the sepals, wrinkled, 

 circumscissile : seeds about 1 mm. long. 



In waste places and cultivated grounds. North America generally. Naturalized from tropical 

 America. Tumble weed. 



11. Am uanthus viridis L. Foliage deep green. Stems erect, 2-9 dm. tall, more 

 or less widely branched : leaf-blades ovate or rhombic, 2-6 cm. long, obtuse or notched at 

 the apex, more or less distinctly erose, cuneate at the base : petioles as long as the blades or 

 shorter : spikes dense, or somewhat interrupted below : bracts inconspicuous : sepals 3, 

 delicate, twice or thrice longer than the bracts : utricle surpassing the calyx, acutish, 

 wrinkled, indehiscent : .seeds fully 1 mm. long, rather dull. 



In waste places, locally in the Gulf States. Also widely distributed in the tropics. 



12. Amaranthus deflexus L. Foliage glabrous, purplish green. Stems spreading 

 or decumbent, rather succulent, more or less branched : leaves often numerous ; blades 

 ovate, oval or oblong-lanceolate, 1-6 cm. long, obtuse to notched at the apex, somewhat 

 cuneately narrowed at the base ; petioles about as long as the blades or longer on the lower 

 part of the stem : flowers polygamous: spikes stout, 1-6 cm. long: sepals 2-3, becoming 

 1.5 mm. long, surpassing the bracts, oblong or spatulate-oblong, thin : utricle fully 2 mm. 

 long, 3-5-ribbed, surpassing the sepals : seeds fully 1 mm. long. 



In waste places, Massachusetts to Florida and Alabama. Widely distributed. 



13. Amaranthus crdssipes Schlecht. Foliage glabrate, deep green. Stem erect or 

 decumbent, 1-6 dm. long, more or less branched, sometimes sliglitly fleshy : leaf-blades 

 spatulate or ovate, 1-2.5 cm. long, rounded or notched at the apex, cuneate at the base ; 

 petioles longer than the blades or shorter : pedicels conspicuously thickened : bracts incon- 

 spicuous, keeled : sepals spatulate, surpassing the bracts, obtuse : utricle indehiscent, sur- 

 passed by the calyx, rough : seeds fully 1 mm. long. 



In waste places, peninsular Florida and the Keys. Also in tropical America. 



14. Amaranthus emarginatus Salzm. Foliage glabrous, deep green. Stems usually 

 branched at the base, the branches elongated, decumbent or prostrate, 1-6 dm. long, often 

 sparingly branched : leaf-bhides rhombic-ovate, 1-2 cm. long, deeply emarginate, more or 

 less cuneate at the base ; petioles slender, twice as long as the blades or shorter : clusters 

 not very densely flowered : pedicels not thickened : bracts inconspicuous : sepals 1.5-2 mm. 

 long, delicate, scarious : utricle scarious, indehiscent, smooth : seeds less than 1 mm. long. 



In waste places, Louisiana and Texas. 



