Amaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus graecizans
blood amaranth, caterpillar amaranth, purple amaranth, red amaranth
Mediterranean amaranth, spreading pigweed, tumbleweed
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 to ascending or decumbent, branched at or distal to base, 0.1–0.9 m. Leaves: petiole variable in length;
blade lanceolate to nearly linear or rhombic-ovate to elliptic-ovate, (1.5–)2–4(–5) × 1–3 cm, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, margins entire, plane, rarely indistinctly undulate, apex subacute to obtuse or emarginate, mucronulate.
narrowly spathulate, 2–3 mm, equaling or slightly longer than tepals, apex short-spinescent.
lanceolate, subspinescent, 1.5–2 mm, shorter or slightly longer than tepals.
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.
axillary glomerules, green.
at tips of inflorescences;
tepals 5;
stamens (4–)5.
intermixed with pistillate;
tepals 3, equal or subequal;
stamens 3.
tepals 5, oblong to lanceolate, not clawed, equal or subequal, 1.5–3 mm, apex acute;
style branches erect or slightly reflexed;
stigmas 3.
tepals 3, erect, elliptic to lanceolate-elliptic, equal or subequal, 1.5–2 mm, apex short-acuminate;
style branches slightly spreading;
stigmas (2–)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.
black, lenticular, 1–1.3(–1.6) mm diam., smooth or indistinctly punctate.
obovoid to elongate-obovoid, 2–2.5 mm, smooth or slightly rugose distally, dehiscence regularly circumscissile.
subglobose to broadly elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, slightly rugose, dehiscence regularly circumscissile, rarely irregularly dehiscent.
Amaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus graecizans
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.)
In North America the name Amaranthus graecizans has been constantly misapplied to the common North American taxa A. albus and A. blitoides. Consequently, A. graecizans has been excluded from lists of North American plants. Recently, herbarium specimens (casual aliens collected in 1879 on ballast in Camden, New Jersey) of A. graecizans subsp. sylvestris were discovered (M. Costea et al. 2001b). Probably, the species disappeared in North America long ago, but, considering the long history of misidentification and confusion, there is also some chance that it may occur locally as an introduced species.
Three subspecies are usually recognized within Amaranthus graecizans in the Old World: subsp. graecizans, subsp. sylvestris (Villars) Brenan, and subsp. thellungianus (Nevski) Gusev. Only subsp. sylvestris, characterized by rhombic-ovate to elliptic-ovate leaves (as compared to lanceolate to almost linear leaves in subsp. graecizans) and comparatively large seeds has so far been reported from North America.
Despite its superficial similarity to Amaranthus albus and A. blitoides, A. graecizans seems to be more closely related to other Old World taxa with trimerous flowers.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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