Amaranthus muricatus

Amaranthus muricatus, the so-called African amaranth, is a species in the genus Amaranthus native to South America; Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. It is an invasive species in Africa, Europe and Australia, and to a lesser degree in North America and Asia.[2] It is a decumbent perennial that does well in arid climates.[3]

Amaranthus muricatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Amaranthus
Species:
A. muricatus
Binomial name
Amaranthus muricatus
Synonyms[2]
  • Amaranthus tarraconensis Sennen & Pau
  • Euxolus muricatus Gillies ex Moq.

A. muricatus may grow to about 60 cm tall. Its glabrous leaves are linear to lanceolate, about 2-5 cm long, with long petioles.[4] Small flowers are produced on compact, pyramidal panicles.[5] These flowers, which appear in summer and fall, produce wrinkled achenes, about 2 mm long, containing semiglossy, black, lenticular seeds that are typically 1-1.2 mm in diameter.[6][7]

References
  1. Bol. Acad. Nac. Ci. Republ. Argent. 4: 421 (1881)
  2. "Amaranthus muricatus (Gillies ex Moq.) Hieron". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  3. Escudero, N.L.; Albarracín, G.; Fernández, S.; De Arellano, L.M.; Mucciarelli, S. (1999). "Nutrient and antinutrient composition of Amaranthus muricatus" (PDF). Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. 54 (4): 327–336. doi:10.1023/A:1008149721435. PMID 10798343. S2CID 18987386. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  4. Mifsud, Stephen (2002-08-23). "Amaranthus muricatus (African Amaranth): MaltaWildPlants.com - the online Flora of the Maltese Islands". www.maltawildplants.com. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  5. "Amaranthus muricatus in Global Plants on JSTOR". plants.jstor.org. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  6. "Amaranthys muricatus: Rough-fruited Amaranth". National Biodiversity Network Atlas. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  7. "Amaranthus muricatus (Gillies ex Moq.) Hieron". floraofgibraltar.myspecies.info. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
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