470 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. XV, No. 5, 
The usual leaf type of the species is the uniform green, showing 
no markings whatever except occasionally some red on the veins 
beneath. (Fig. 1 a). This form is the common type, according 
to the observation of the writer, from Ohio to Kansas. 
Several years ago a neighbor was showing his garden and 
casually made a remark about the abundance of weeds. An 
Amaranthus retroflexus was present which had large, red, oval or 
ovate spots of anthocyan on the leaf blades. The spot was more 
prominent on some plants than on others but was of striking 
appearance in all of them (Fig. 1 b). Some of these plants were 
dug up and transferred to flower beds on the university campus. 
In the summer the spots disappeared so that it was difficult to 
identify the plants in September. However, in the spring great 
numbers of seedlings appeared with the characteristic leaf marking 
and they have been growing each year since. Other plants of 
similar nature were also observed in a corn field near Columbus. 
This form was looked for in various parts of Kansas but no speci¬ 
mens were found. 
In Clay County, Kansas, a different type of leaf marking was 
observed on numerous plants growing together with the ordinary 
green type. This variety had a silvery, curved band a little 
beyond the middle, the curve being toward the tip somewhat 
similar to the silvery spots seen on the red and white clovers 
(Fig. 1 c). This silvery white patch is very persistent and ap¬ 
pears on all of the leaves up to the inflorescence. No such plants 
have been observed at Columbus and none were found by the 
writer at Topeka, Kansas. Some seed was brought from the 
Kansas plants and produced the characteristic markings in a 
garden in Columbus. 
The fourth striking pattern was also first observed on a farm 
near Morganville, Kansas. This type had the silvery curved 
band and a red spot on each side of it. (Fig. 1 d). Only three 
such plants were seen during a whole summer altho diligent search 
was made for others in the surrounding country. However, last 
summer this variety was found to be very common along the 
streets of Manhattan, Kansas, about forty-five miles from Morgan¬ 
ville. This peculiar form appears as tho it might be a combina¬ 
tion of “b” and “c”. But as stated the red spot form was not 
observed in Kansas. 
What is the significance of such patterns ? It will be observed 
that the markings have no fundamental relation to the structure 
of the leaf. A utilitarian explanation would be out of the question. 
No hybridization is apparent and no related species are known 
in these regions which could represent possible parents. These 
patterns have been found to be hereditary and constant for several 
generations. Whether they are Mendelian is not known, no 
crossings having been attempted, as the flowers are small and 
