Amaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus acanthochiton
blood amaranth, caterpillar amaranth, purple amaranth, red amaranth
greenstripe, greenstripe amaranth
erect, green or reddish purple, branched distally, mostly in inflorescence, to nearly simple, 0.4–2 m. Leaves: petiole 1/2 as long as to ± equaling blade;
blade rhombic-ovate or ovate to broadly lanceolate, 3–15(–20) × 1.5–10(–15) cm, occasionally larger in robust plants, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, margins entire, plane, apex acute or subobtuse to slightly emarginate, with mucro.
erect, much-branched, 0.1–0.8 m;
proximal branches ascending.
petiole shorter than blade;
blade narrowly linear-lanceolate to linear, 2–8 × 0.2–1.2(–1.7) cm, base narrowly cuneate to narrowly decurrent, margins erose, crispate, or irregularly undulate, apex acute to subobtuse.
narrowly spathulate, 2–3 mm, equaling or slightly longer than tepals, apex short-spinescent.
completely enfolding flower; of pistillate flowers with prominent excurrent midrib, venation distinct, broadly triangular to deltate, 5+ mm, longer than tepals, margins erose, crenate, or denticulate, apex acute or acuminate; of staminate flowers shorter than tepals, apex acute.
terminal and axillary, erect, reflexed, or nodding, usually dark red, purple, or deep beet-red, less commonly almost green or greenish red, leafless at least distally, large and robust.
terminal spikes, erect, usually stiff.
at tips of inflorescences;
tepals 5;
stamens (4–)5.
tepals 5, equal or subequal, 2–3 mm, margins erose to denticulate, outer tepals with apex subobtuse to acute-acuminate;
inner tepals with apex distinctly acuminate or mucronulate;
stamens 5.
tepals 5, oblong to lanceolate, not clawed, equal or subequal, 1.5–3 mm, apex acute;
style branches erect or slightly reflexed;
stigmas 3.
outer tepals rudimentary, less that 1.2 mm;
inner tepals with venation distinct, 3–4(–5) mm, apex acute, with terminal mucro;
style branches spreading;
stigmas 3.
usually white or ivory, with reddish or yellowish tint, sometimes dark brown to dark reddish brown, broadly lenticular to elliptic-lenticular, 1.2–1.6 mm diam., smooth or indistinctly punctate.
dark reddish brown to brown, 1–1.3 mm diam., shiny.
obovoid to elongate-obovoid, 2–2.5 mm, smooth or slightly rugose distally, dehiscence regularly circumscissile.
light brown, elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 2(–2.5) mm, shorter than outer tepals, slightly rugose to smooth.
Amaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus acanthochiton
Amaranthus cruentus is cultivated as ornamental and pseudocereal almost worldwide from tropical to warm-temperate regions. While reported as naturalized in several states, most specimens identified as this species are referable to A. hybridus or other native species. Escaped plants of A. cruentus sometimes occur near places of cultivation (see note under A. caudatus). No attempt has been made to summarize distribution data for such escapes.
Amaranthus cruentus originated from A. hybridus (most probably in cultivation in Central America), with which it shares almost all major morphologic characteristics. Inclusion of cultivated forms in A. hybridus in a broad sense is thus rather justified. Cultivated species traditionally have been treated as separate taxa in horticultural and agricultural literature, and we prefer to maintain the current convenient usage of these names.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Amaranthus acanthochiton is very different morphologically from other taxa of dioecious amaranths. In its vegetative and floral morphology, it is similar to the monoecious A. fimbriatus, especially in branching habit, narrow linear to linear-lanceolate leaf blade, and broadly spatulate to almost fan-shaped tepals of the pistillate flowers. These species are also similar phytogeographically, occurring within the southwestern part of the United States and neighboring northern Mexico. The “dioecious amaranths” are an artificial and polyphyletic group consisting of at least two (or three) independently evolved lineages roughly corresponding to the sections of subg. Acnida outlined by S. L. Mosyakin and K. R. Robertson (1996).
Amaranthus acanthochiton is critically imperiled in Utah and imperiled in Arizona; its Global Heritage Status Rank is G5 as defined by The Nature Conservancy. Seeds and young leaves of A. acanthochiton were used by Native Americans (Hopi) as food: the seeds cooked as a kind of porridge, and the leaves cooked and eaten as greens or with meat (D. E. Moerman 1998).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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