AMARANTH FAMILY 99 



2. Amaranthus graecizans L. Tumbleweed. Fig. 1561. 



Amaranthus graecizans L. Sp. PI. 990. 1753. 

 Amaranthus alb us L. Sp. PI. ed. 2. 1404. 1763. 



Stems erect, bushy-branched, 2-6 dm. high, glabrous and pallid. Leaves oblong, spatulate or 

 obovate, 2-A cm. long, slender-petioled, papillose ; flower polygamous, in small axillary clusters ; 

 bracts subulate, spine-tipped, much longer than the 3 membranous sepals; stamens 3; utricle 

 rugulose above; seeds about 0.7 mm. in diameter. 



A common summer weed in waste and cultivated ground, Sonoran and Transition Zones; common in the 

 Pacific States and throughout the United States and Canada. Native of tropical America. In the fall leafless, rigid 

 bushy stems are easily uprooted and blown about by the wind, thus effectively sowing the ripened seeds and 

 widely disseminating the species. June-Oct. 



4. Amaranthus blitoides S. Wats. Prostrate Amaranth. Fig. 1562. 



Amaranthus blitoides S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 12: 273. 1877. 

 Galliaria blitoides Nieuwl. Amer. Midi. Nat. 3: 278. 1914. 

 Amaranthus blitoides var. crassior Jepson, Fl. Calif. 449. 1914. 



Stems somewhat succulent, prostrate, 3-6 dm. long, whitish. Leaves obovate to oval, 1-4 cm. 

 long, glabrous, usually crowded, deep green and shining, often white-margined ; flowers monoe- 

 cious, in small axillary clusters; bracts oblong to lanceolate, longer than the sepals, attenuate 

 to a spinose tip ; sepals of the pistillate flowers 4 or 5, narrowly oblong, 3 mm. long, acuminate ; 

 stamens 3 ; utricle smooth ; seed rotund, 1 . 5 mm. in diameter, rather dull black. 



Dry ground, roadsides and cultivated fields, Sonoran and Transition Zones; Washington to southern Cali- 

 fornia, Wyoming, western Texas, and Chihuahua; introduced in the eastern United States, and apparently in 

 California west of the Sierra Nevada. Type locality: not definitely stated. July-Nov. 



5. Amaranthus californicus (Moq.) S. Wats. California Amaranth. Fig. 1563. 



Mengea calif arnica Moq. in DC. Prod. 13 2 : 270. 1849. 

 Amaranthus californicus S. Wats. Bot. Calif. 2 : 42. 1880. 

 Amaranthus carneus Greene, Pittonia 2: 105. 1890. 

 Amaranthus albomarginatus Uline & Bray, Bot. Gaz. 19: 318. 1894. 



Stems prostrate, much branched, forming mats 8-50 cm. across, whitish and glabrous. 

 Leaves spatulate or obovate to oblanceolate, 5-20 mm. long, pale green and glabrous, often 

 white-margined ; petioles slender, as long or longer than the blades ; flowers monoecious, in 

 small axillary clusters; bracts lanceolate, subulate-tipped, about equaling the calyx; sepals of 

 the staminate flowers usually 3, lanceolate ; stamens 1 or 2 ; pistillate sepals 1-3, one narrowly 

 lanceolate, the others much reduced and scale-like or wanting ; utricle smooth ; seeds rotund, 

 0.6-0.8 mm. in diameter. 



Sandy moist flats, mainly in the Transition Zone; southern Washington and Alberta to Nevada and southern 

 California. Type locality: California. July-Oct. 



6. Amaranthus Palmeri S. Wats. Palmer's Amaranth. Fig. 1564. 



Amaranthus Palmeri S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 12: 274. 1876. 

 Amaranthus Palmeri var. glomeratus Uline & Bray, Bot. Gaz. 19: 272. 1894. 



Stems erect, stout, simple or usually branched, 3-10 dm. high, glabrous throughout or more 

 or less pubescent above. Leaves ovate, rhombic-ovate or the upper lanceolate, 1-5 cm. long ; 

 petioles slender, usually much longer than the blades ; inflorescence spike-like, simple or panicu- 

 late, often 3 dm. long or more, usually interrupted below ; flowers dioecious ; bracts lanceolate- 

 subulate and pungent, well exceeding the calyx; sepals of the staminate flowers oblong, acute, 

 those of the pistillate spatulate, often emarginate; stamens 5; style branches 2 or rarely 3; 

 utricle circumscissile, rugose above; seeds oval, 1.3 mm. long, dark reddish brown. 



Bottom lands and cultivated fields, Sonoran Zones; deserts of southern California, to western Texas and 

 central Mexico. Type locality: Larkin's Station, San Diego County, California. Careless Weed. July-Nov. 



7. Amaranthus fimbriatus (Torr.) Benth. Fringed Amaranth. Fig. 1565. 



Sarratia Berlandieri var. fimbriata Torr. Bot. Mex. Bound. 179. 1859. 

 Amblogyna fimbriata A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 5: 167. 1861. 

 Amaranthus fimbriatus Benth. ex S. Wats. Bot. Calif. 2: 42. 1880. 



Stems erect, 1-8 dm. high, simple or usually branched, glabrous throughout or puberulent 

 above. Leaves narrowly lanceolate to linear, 2-7 cm. long, green and glabrous ; petioles slender, 

 shorter than the blades ; inflorescence spike-like, interrupted and leafy below ; flowers monoe- 

 cious; bracts distinctly shorter than the sepals, ovate, acute or acuminate, often fimbriate; 

 sepals of the pistillate flowers united at the base, broadly spatulate and conspicuously fimbriate, 

 those of the staminate flowers oblong, acute ; stamens 3 ; utricle circumscissile near the apex ; 

 seeds rotund, 0.8 mm. in diameter. 



Desert regions, Lower Sonoran Zone; southern Nevada and southern Utah to the Colorado Desert, Cali- 

 fornia, Lower California and Sinaloa, Mexico. Type locality: on the Gila River, Arizona. Aug.-Dec. 



8. Amaranthus deflexus L. Low Amaranth. Fig. 1566. 



Amaranthus deflexus L. Mant. 2: 295. 1771. 



Amaranthus prostratus Balbis, Mem. Acad. Turin. 7: 360. 1804. 



Euxolus deflexus Raf. Fl. Tell. 3: 42. 1837. 



Stems prostrate or ascending, branching from the base, slender, 2-5 dm. long, somewhat 



