6 
CX. AMARANTACE^E. 
[ Amaranthus. 
4 . AMARANTHUS, Linn. 
Annual weedy herbs. Leaves alternate, thin. Flowers small, 
green or in cultivated forms red, in cymules or dense axillary clusters 
or terminal and axillary spikes or panicles. Sepals 3 or 5, in 
males ovate-lanceolate, in females oblong or spathulate. Stamens 
3 or 5 ; anthers 2-celled. Ovary ovoid, i-celled, i-seeded; stigmas 
2 to 3. Fruit a round or ovoid utricle, indehiscent or cireumsciss. 
Seed round and flat. Species 10 or more over the whole world. 
Several are cultivated as spinach (Bayam) and some for their red 
leaves or panicles; such are A. tricolor with red and green and 
yellow leaves, “ Turk’s Cap; ” A. hypochondriacus with erect crimson 
spikes; A. salicifolius with linear drooping leaves, orange, carmine 
and yellow. 
Sepals and stamens 5. Utricle cireumsciss. 
Whole plant spiny; spikes rather short 
Plant unarmed; spikes long pendent 
Sepals and stamens 3. 
Utricle cireumsciss; sepals long-awned. 
Robust plant; flowers in dense long spikes 
Weak plant; flowers in small axillary heads 
Utricle indehiscent; sepals short-awned 
(1) A. spinosus 
{2) A. caudatus 
(3) A. gangeticus 
(4) A. mangostana 
(5) A. viridis 
(1) A. spinosus Linn. Sp. PI. 991; Gamble, l.c. 9. 
About 1 ft. tall with axillary yellowish spines *3 in. long. Leaves 
thin ovate or oblong blunt, mucronulate, base cuneate, 1 in. long, 
•5 in. wide; petioles slender, -5 in. long. Flowers in dense axillary 
clusters and terminal slender spikes 2 to 3 in. long, upper flowers 
usually male, lower females or mixed. Sepals 5, usually about 
■05 in. long. Utricle cireumsciss. Hab. A common weed, Singa¬ 
pore, Galang, Malacca, Selangor, Province Wellesley, Krian. 
Penang. Distrib. Whole tropics. Native name: Bayam duri. 
Use: A pot herb. 
(2) A. caudatus Linn. Sp. PL 990; Gamble, l.c. 10. 
Rather robust. Leaves membranous, elliptic or ovate-lanceo¬ 
late, tip blunt, base cuneate, -3 in. long, 2 in. wide; petioles 
2-5 in. long. Spikes terminal, drooping 2 to 6 in. long and axillary 
clusters. Sepals 5, oblanceolate mucronate keeled. Stamens 5. 
Utricle cireumsciss. Hab. Cultivated, and a weed in waste ground. 
Singapore and other localities. Pahang, Kwala Tahan (Seimund). 
Distrib. Whole world in warm countries. Native name: Bayam 
Selasih, Use : As spinach. 
Cultivated forms with long red spikes are known as “ Love lies bleeding ” 
and “ Prince of Wales' Feathers.” The common form has a big terminal 
panicle of slender spikes, and the cultivated form has often fewer, but longer, 
very thick spikes. 
( 3 ) A. gangeticus Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 1268; Gamble, 
l.c. 10. 
Rather robust, 18 in. or more tall. Leaves lanceolate, ovate, 
