Amaranthus cruentus |
Amaranthus tamaulipensis |
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blood amaranth, caterpillar amaranth, purple amaranth, red amaranth |
tamaulipas amaranth |
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Habit | Plants almost glabrous or slightly pubescent distally, especially when young. | Plants glabrous. |
Stems | 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 or ascending (sometimes prostrate), stramineous or suffused with red, branched at base, sparsely branched to simple distally, 15–30(–60) cm. |
Leaves | petiole 1/2 as long as to equaling blade; blade ovate or rhombic-ovate, 1–2.7 × 0.5–1.5 cm, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, margins entire, plane or slightly undulate (rarely erose), apex obtuse, rounded, or broadly cuneate, with mucro. |
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Bracts | narrowly spathulate, 2–3 mm, equaling or slightly longer than tepals, apex short-spinescent. |
lanceolate-ovate to lanceolate, shorter than tepals, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | 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. |
axial glomerules from base of plant to tip, interrupted at nodes or crowded in terminal, leafy spikes. |
Staminate flowers | at tips of inflorescences; tepals 5; stamens (4–)5. |
basal and scattered on lateral shoots; tepals 4–5, oblong-ovate, equal, 1.2–1.6 mm, apex acute to acuminate; stamens 3(–4). |
Pistillate flowers | 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 5, not imbricate, distal parts expanded, oblong-spatulate, subequal, 1.1–1.6(–2.1) mm, scarious, margins entire, apex obtuse or rounded, with excurrent midrib; style branches erect; stigmas 3. |
Seeds | 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 to reddish brown, lenticular to subglobose, 1–1.2 mm, smooth, shiny. |
Utricles | obovoid to elongate-obovoid, 2–2.5 mm, smooth or slightly rugose distally, dehiscence regularly circumscissile. |
brownish at maturity, obovoid to obpyramidal, slightly biconvex, 1.5–1.7 mm, longer than tepals, rugose to tuberculate, dehiscence regularly circumscissile. |
Amaranthus cruentus |
Amaranthus tamaulipensis |
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Phenology | Flowering summer–fall. | Flowering spring–fall. |
Habitat | Near places of cultivation | Disturbed habitats |
Elevation | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) | |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CT; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TX; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; Central America; South America; cultivated widely
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TX; Mexico (San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Tamaulipas) |
Discussion | 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 tamaulipensis seems to be related to A. brandegeei Standley sensu stricto, which was described from northern Mexico, and A. dubius. According to Henrickson, A. tamaulipensis differs from A. brandegeei in having erect, not reflexed, tepals; from A. dubius it can be distinguished by the characters of its tepals, distinctly rugose, not smooth, fruits with smooth, turban-shaped style base, and three stamens. The proper placement and taxonomic status of A. tamaulipensis remain problematic and need further study. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 4. | FNA vol. 4, p. 426. |
Parent taxa | Amaranthaceae > Amaranthus > subg. Amaranthus | Amaranthaceae > Amaranthus > subg. Amaranthus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. hybridus subsp. cruentus | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1269. (1759) | Henrickson: Sida 18: 800, f igs. 4G, 5, 8, map. (1999) |
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