220 AMARANTHACEAE 
Flower clusters in the axils of leaves. 
Leaves broadest at apex, with anions erent, aes a pa oe at apex. 
Stem prostrate . . . A. blitoides 
Stem erect 2) ~ Se ie” OA oe Aiea amare gic I. 2b Sane a graccizans 
Leaves broadest at base. : 
Borders indented airs oe) we se 6 Alogi 
Borders smooth, indentation at apex Me, Cee ele LS 
1. A. retroflexus, L. (Fig. 1, pl. 37.) RovucuH PicwrErp. A common 
coarse weed in gardens with stout branching stem and long slender stalked 
leaves which are egg-shaped, rhombic or irregular, generally pointed at 
apex and less pointed at base. The leaf margins are smooth or undulate. 
Plant more or less covered by soft hairs. Flowers in compact spikes 
without leaves. Found mostly in cultivated grounds. 
2. A. hybridus, L. Srenper Picweep. Similar to No. 1, but more 
slender. The flower spikes are longer and less thick, leaves less rough 
and of a deeper, dull green, or dark purple. Found, like No. 1, in 
cultivated grounds. 
3. A. spinosus, L. Spiny AMARANTH. Plant smooth. Leaves egg- 
shaped or ovate-rhombie on long slender leaf stalks. At the base of the 
leaf stalk and of the small branches start two narrow, dry spines. The 
upper clusters of flowers form cylindric spikes and are staminate, while 
the pistillate flowers are in globular clusters below. Flowers incon- 
spicuous, yellowish-green. Waste grounds. Naturalized. 
4. A, blitoides, S. Wats. Prostrate AMARANTH. Plant prostrate, 
smooth, pale green. Leaves broadly rounded at apex, narrow and pointed 
at base. Flowers in leafy clusters in the leaf axils. On railroad ballast 
in our area. 
5. A. graecizans, L. (Fig. 9, pl. 37.) TumsBre Weep. Smooth, 
pale green; stem 4 to 2 ft. high, much branched and whitish. Leaves 
similar to No. 4, 7. ¢., obversely egg-shaped or spatulate, with a fine 
spine at the apex. Flowers surrounded by dry spiny bracts in small axil- 
lary groups. Common in waste grounds. 
6. A. lividus, L. PurpLisH AMARANTH. Plant slender, 1 to 2 ft. 
high, with purplish and somewhat succulent stem. Leaves egg-shaped 
or rhomboid-ovate with apex obtuse and conspicuously indented. 'Termi- 
nal slender spikes of staminate, lower rounded clusters of pistillate 
flowers. Not very common, Eastern parts, 
7. A, deflexus, L. Low Amarantu. Similar to No. 6, with leaves 
less obtuse and not indented at apex. Waste places, eastern parts of our 
area, 
8. A. crispus, (L.) Braun. Crisp-LEAVED AMARANTH. Slender, pros- 
trate, profusely branched, spreading as a mat 4 to 2 ft. in diameter over 
the ground. Leaves oval or rhomboid with undulating borders. Clusters 
of flowers small in the leaf axils. Stems hairy. Albany, New York City 
and a few other localities. 
9. A. pumilus, Raf. Coast AMARANTH. Low or prostrate, 3 to 8 
in. high, with fleshy oval leaves or with leaves broader at apex. All 
distinctly indented at apex. On sea beaches, Rhode Island and south- 
ward, 
2. ACNIDA, L. 
Our species a tall succulent herb resembling the Amaranths. The 
