WOOTON AND STANDLEY FLORA OF NEW MEXICO. 211 



Sepals 5; plants tall, stout, erect; inflorescence mostly of 

 dense terminal spikes. 



Sepals contracted near the base ;5. A. pringlei. 



Sepals not contracted at the base. 

 Stamens uniformly 3. 



Seed obovate 4. A. obovatus. 



Seed orbicular. 



Sepals obtuse, purplish, firm; spikes leafy, 



interrupted 5. A. wrightii. 



Sepals acute, whitish, scarious; spikes naked, 



dense ti. A. powellii. 



Stamens 5, or rarely fewer. 



Plants densely viscid; bracts about 3 times as 



long as the sepals 7. A. hrtirleosus. 



Plants not viscid; bracts twice as long as the 

 sepals or shorter. 



Sepals obtuse; spikes stout, erect 8. A. retroflexus. 



Sepals acute; spikes slender, drooping. 



Inflorescence green ft. A.hybridus. 



Inflorescence red 10. .1. paniculatus. 



1. Amaranthus palmer! S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 12: 274. 1877. 

 Type locality: Larkins Station, San Diego County, California. 

 Range: Western Texas to the Pacific coast, southward into Mexico. 



New Mexico: Common from the Mogollon Mountains and Socorro to the White 

 Mountains and Pecos Valley and southward across the State. Lower and Upper 

 Sonoran zones. 



A tall, coarse native weed, usually 50 to 100 cm. high, occasionally reaching 250 

 cm., common in fields, on ditch banks, and along roadsides. The staminate plants are 

 usually rather slender, and the terminal spike is frequently weak and drooping, 

 times considerably elongated. The pistillate plants are usually branched near 

 the base and sometimes spread considerably, while the spikes are very dense and 

 elongated, ultimately becoming very spiny from the fruiting bracts. 



In some localities the plain is considered valuable as stock feed and has been cut 

 and cured for hay when at the right stage "!' growth. It is said to cause bloating in 

 cattle when eaten in too great abundance while the plants are young and succulent. 



2. Amaranthus torreyi (A. Gray) Benth.; S. Wats. Bot. Calif. 2: 42. 1880. 

 Amblogyne inn,'!' A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 5: 107. 1861. 



Type locality: Western Texas. 



RANGE: Nebraska to Nevada, BOUthward into New Mexico, western Texas, and 

 Mexico. 



New Mexico: Arroyo Ranch {Griffiths 5702), Upper Sonoran Zone. 



The species is probably more or less common along the eastern tier <>l counties of 

 the state, lull we know of only the single collection cited above. 



3. Amaranthus pringlei S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. SI: 476. I 

 Type locality: < >n rocky hills near I Ihihuahua, Mexico. 

 Range: Western Texas to Nevada, southward into Mexico. 



New Mexico: Mangas Springs; Berendo Creek; Mineral Greek; Organ Mountains; 

 Dog Spring. I pper Sonoran Zone. 



Tins is much rarer than the other species of the genus, occurring mostly in the 

 lulls and lower mountains and not appearing as a treed. 



4. Amaranthus obovatus s. Wats. Proc Imer. lead 19: 



Type locality: Copper Mines, Ne* Mexico. Type collected by Wright (no. 

 in pat I i. 



