AMARANTHACEJE. (AMARANTH FAMILY.) 383 
ing or horizontal branches; leaves obovate or spatulate-oblong, pale 
green, obtuse or notched and tipped with a short bristle, somewhat 
wavy-margined; clusters axillary, inconspicuous (greenish); bracts 
lanceolate-awl-shaped, with spreading spiny tips, much longer than 
the calyx. (A. gr$cizans, L. A. Blitum, Bigel.) — Open waste pla¬ 
ces and road-sides, common. Aug. — A very homely weed, 1°-3° 
high : leaves £* - 2 r long; the obscure flowers concealed among the 
greenish bracts in small clusters. 
**- ■*- Stamens 5. 
2. A. hybrid US, L. Roughish-pubescent ; stem upright, groov¬ 
ed-angled, sparingly branched, or simple; leaves ovate and lanceo¬ 
late-ovate ; flowers ( greenish) crowded in dense compound terminal and 
axillary naked spikes; bracts awl-shaped , almost bristle-pointed , longer 
than the flowers. (A. paniculatus, L. ?) — A very common greenish 
and coarse weed in waste and cultivated grounds. July —Oct._ 
Stem 1°- 5° high, stout: leaves 2' long. 
3. A. retroflexus, L. Rough-hairy ; stem upright , stout, often 
zigzag, the lower branches recurved at the base ; leaves ovate, wavy- 
margined ; spikes thickened, aggregated , crowded, erect (green) ; bracts 
awl-shaped, bristle-pointed, much longer than the flowers. — Penn, and 
southward, with the last, which it too closely resembles: a rougher 
and stouter plant, with thicker and more crowded spikes and larger 
flowers. 
4. A. hypochondriacus, L. (Prince’s Feather.) JYear¬ 
ly smooth; stem upright, stout; leaves ovate, acute, green with a red- 
purple spot, or tinged with purple; flowers clustered in upright com¬ 
pound spikes or racemes, bright red-purple, as well as the awl-shaped 
bracts.— Native in Virginia, &c.: common around gardens, escaped 
from cultivation. 
5. A. pillllilus, Raf. Very smooth ; stems diffusely spreading; 
leaves ovate, obtuse, fleshy; flowers (greenish and purple) in somewhat 
crowded axillary clusters; bracts short, pointless. — Sandy beach, 
New Jersey to Rhode Island. Aug. — Stems scarcely rising from the 
ground : leaves long, bright shining green, with more or less pur¬ 
plish veins. 
* * Monoecious: utricle thin towards the base, where it bursts irregu¬ 
larly, thickened towards the apex : stamens 5. 
6 A* spinosus, L. Smoothish, branching; leaves ovate- 
lanceolate, spiny at the axils; sterile clusters crowded in compound 
panicled and naked spikes, the fertile mostly compact and globular in 
the axils (greenish); bracts not longer than the calyx. — Road-sides, 
Penn, and southward : introduced. June - Sept. — Stem 1°- 3° high, 
often purplish : the spines long. 
* * * Monoecious : utricle not dehiscent , but falling away entire. 
