418 



Amaranthaceae 



1. Amaranthus retroflexus L. Aogeito, Aobiyu. 

 Rather coarse annual; stems rather stout, green, soft-pubescent, 

 1-2 m. long, branched; leaves rhombic-ovate, 5-10 cm. long, 

 2-6 cm. wide, acute or subobtuse with a short mucro, cuneate 

 at base, glabrous above, soft-pubescent on the nerves beneath, 

 the petioles 3-8 cm. long; inflorescence paniculate, elongate, 

 erect or ascending, often short-branched below, the axis densely 

 soft-pubescent; flowers pale green (plants polygamous), 

 densely disposed, the bracts subulate, 4-6 mm. long, spine- 

 pointed, the lower margins membranous; perianth-segments 

 about 3 mm. long, oblanceolate, obtuse to rounded, short- 

 awned, white-membranous on margin, slightly longer than the 

 utricle. Aug.-Oct. A weed in lowlands; Hokkaido, Hon- 

 shu, Kyushu; very common. ^A pantropic weed. 



2. Amaranthus patulus Bertol. A. hybridus subsp. 

 cruentus var. patulus (Bertol.) Thell. Hoso-aogeito. Re- 

 sembles the preceding; spikes green, the bracts 2-4 mm. long; 

 perianth 1.5-2 mm. long, the segments obtuse with a minute 



point, slighdy shorter than the utricle; stigma very short. 



Aug.-Oct. A weed in lowlands; Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu. 

 Europe. 



Amaranthus paniculatus L. Sugimorigeito. Annual 

 with slender red to yellow spikes, the bracts with shorter 

 spines. Sometimes cultivated as an ornamental in our area. 



3. Amaranthus caudatus L. Sennin-koku, Himogeito. 

 Erect, slightly pubescent annual to 1 m. high; leaves rhombic- 

 ovate, 5-10 cm. long, 3-6 cm. wide, acute, mucronulate, nearly 

 glabrous above, scattered soft-pubescent on the nerves beneath; 

 inflorescence much elongate, branched below, pendulous or 

 nodding, rose to white, die bracts 2-3 mm. long, membranous, 

 rounded at apex, slighdy toothed, slighdy shorter to as long as 

 the utricle. Commonly cultivated in our area as an orna- 

 mental. ^Tropics. 



4. Amaranthus spinosus L. Haribiyu. Scattered 

 short-pubescent to nearly glabrous annual, 40-80 cm. high, 

 with angled stems; leaves narrowly to sometimes broadly 

 ovate, 3-8 cm. long, 1.5-4 cm. wide, obtuse with a small mucro 

 at tip, cuneate at base, the petioles 1-8 cm. long, subtended by 

 spreading spines about 1 cm. long; lower spikes axillary and 

 globose, the upper elongate, the bracts narrowly lanceolate; 

 perianth-segments 5, about 1.3 mm. long, nearly as long as the 

 utricle, narrowly oblong, membranous, cuspidate; fruit imper- 

 fectly circumscissile; stigma rather long, about 1 mm. long, 

 filiform. Aug.-Oct. Honshu, Kyushu. Tropical Amer- 

 ica, now widely naturahzed as a weed in the warmer regions 

 of the world. 



5. Amaranthus tricolor L. A. melanchoUcus L.; A. 

 gangeticus L. Hageito. Annual, often slightly soft- 

 pubescent while young, later glabrescent; stems 80-150 cm. 

 long, erect, coarse; leaves linear-lanceolate to rhombic-ovate, 

 7-20 cm. long, 2-7 cm. wide, acute or subacute, short-mucro- 

 nate, cuneate at base, often variously colored and blotched with 

 red and yellow, the petioles 3-10 cm. long; spike axillary, glo- 

 bose, densely flowered, pale green, the bracts narrowly ovate, 

 membranous, awn-tipped, slighdy shorter than the perianth; 

 perianth-segments 3, broadly lanceolate, short-awned, about 3 

 mm. long; fruit about 2/3 as long as the perianth. Aug.- 

 Oct. Widely cultivated in our gardens. Tropical Asia. 



6. Amaranthus mangostanus L. A. inamoenus Willd. 



HiYU. Nearly glabrous annual; stems erect, 80-150 cm. 



long; leaves broadly rhombic-ovate, or broadly deltoid-ovate, 

 5-12 cm. long, 2-7 cm. wide, obtuse, retuse at apex, broadly 



cuneate and decurrent on the petiole; petioles 3-10 cm. long; 

 lower spikes globose, the upper ones elongate, interrupted, 

 pale green, the bracts ovate, awn-pointed, shorter than the 

 perianth, membranous; perianth-segments narrowly ovate, 

 membranous, awn-tipped, about 3 mm. long; stamens 3; 



utricles shorter than the perianth. Aug.-Oct. Cultivated 



as a vegetable. India. 



7. Amaranthus graecizans L. A. blitoides S. Wats. 



Inu-hime-shirobiyu. Annual, glabrous or nearly so; stems 

 branched, ascending to procumbent, 10-60 cm. long; leaves 

 narrowly obovate, 8-25 mm. long, 2.5-15 mm. wide, obtuse, 

 mucronate or subacute, acute at base, the petioles 5-15 mm. 

 long; spikes small, axillary, subglobose, the bracts narrowly 

 ovate or broadly lanceolate, green, short-awned at apex; peri- 

 anth-segments shorter than the bracts, narrowly oblong, 

 cuspidate, about 1 mm. long; utricles nearly smooth, slightly 



longer than the perianth. Sept.-Oct. North American 



weed naturalized in Honshu. 



8. Amaranthus albus L. Hime-shirobiyu. Resem- 

 bles A. graecizans; leaves oblong or subspathulate, 8-13 mm. 

 long, 2-7 mm. wide, obtuse with a short mucro at tip, decur- 

 rent below on the petiole, 3-8 mm. long; spikes axillary, rather 

 few-flowered, the bracts linear-subulate, recurved above, 2-3 

 mm. long, the perianth-segments much shorter than the bracts, 

 membranous, acute; utricles rugose, longer than the perianth. 



Aug.-Sept. Naturalized in Honshu (Kinki Distr.). 



N. America. 



9. Amaranthus viridis L. Euxolus viridis (L.) Moq.; 

 Chenopodium caudatum Jacq.; E. caudatus (Jacq.) Moq.; A. 

 gracilis Desf. AoBrro, Honaga-inubiyu. Nearly gla- 

 brous annual; stems erect, sparsely branched, 50-80 cm. long; 

 leaves broadly deltoid-ovate, 4-8 cm. long, 2.5-6 cm. wide, 

 retuse, broadly cuneate to subtruncate at base; spikes on upper 

 part of the stems, to 8 cm. long, the bracts membranous, nar- 

 rowly ovate, minute, 0.8 mm. long, much shorter than the 

 perianth, minutely awned at apex; perianth-segments 3, 

 broadly oblanceolate, acute, with a green midrib, 1-1.2 nam. 

 long; utricles globose, slightly longer than the perianth, promi- 

 nently rugose, indehiscent. July-Oct. Honshu, Kyushu. 



Tropical American weed widely naturalized in the 



warmer regions of the world. 



10. Amaranthus lividus L. A. blitum L., pro parte; A. 

 ascendens sensu auct. Japon., non Loisel.; Euxolus ascendens 



(Loisel.) Hara; E. viridis var. ascendens (Loisel.) Moq. 



Inu-biyu. Resembles A. vij-idis; leaves deeply retuse, broadly 

 cuneate at base; spikes rather stout, the lateral ones usually 

 not elongate, the perianth-segments lanceolate; utricles nearly 



smooth. June-Oct. Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu. 



Cosmopohtan weed of European (?) origin. 



11. Amaranthus deflexus L. Euxolus deflexus (L.) 



Raf. Haibiyu. Scattered short-pubescent; stems much 



branched, ascending or decumbent, 10-30 cm. long; leaves 

 ovate or narrowly ovate-deltoid, 1-4 cm. long, 5-20 mm. wide, 

 obtuse, retuse or subacute, cuneate at base, nearly glabrous, the 

 petioles 1-3 cm. long; inflorescence terminal, subelongate, 2-4 

 cm. long, sparsely branched below, the bracts narrowly ovate, 

 short-awned at tip, about 1 mm. long; perianth-segments 2-3, 

 oblong, acuminate, with a green midrib on back, about 2 mm. 

 long; utricles about 1.5 times as long as the perianth, finely 

 few-nerved. Aug.-Oct. Naturalized near Tokyo. Eu- 

 rope, N. America, N. Africa, and S. America. 



