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Argentina amaranth, deflexed amaranth, large-fruit amaranth, low amaranth

Habit Plants short-lived perennial or annual, pubescent in distal parts of plant or becoming glabrescent at maturity.
Stems

ascending or prostrate, profusely branched basally, radiating from rootstock, mostly 0.2–0.5 m.

Leaves

petiole 1/2 as long as to equaling blade;

blade rhombic-ovate or ovate to lanceolate, 1–2 × 0.5–1 cm, base tapering or cuneate, margins entire, plane or slightly undulate, apex subacute, obtuse, or retuse or shallowly emarginate, mucronulate.

Bracts

of pistillate flowers linear, 0.5–1 mm, 1/2 as long as tepals.

Inflorescences

terminal, erect, compact, pyramidal panicles and also some axillary clusters, green or silvery green, occasionally tinged with red, leafless at least distally.

Staminate flowers

clustered at tips of inflorescences;

tepals 2–3;

stamens 2–3.

Pistillate flowers

tepals 2–3, narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, not clawed, equal or subequal, 1.2–2 mm, apex broadly acute;

style branches erect;

stigmas 3.

Seeds

very dark brown to black, 1–1.2 mm diam., shiny, filling only proximal portion of fruit.

Utricles

marked with 2(–3) green lines that intersect at apex and divide fruit into halves or quarters, slightly to distinctly inflated, ellipsoid, 2–3 mm, distinctly longer than tepals, smooth (in dry plants wrinkled or rugose), indehiscent.

Amaranthus deflexus

Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Weedy areas, ballast heaps, railroads, other disturbed habitats
Elevation 0-500 m (0-1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CA; FL; GA; LA; MA; NJ; NY; OR; PA; TN; VA; native to South America [Introduced in North America; locally introduced or naturalized in tropical to warm-temperate regions of the globe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The hybrid between Amaranthus deflexus and A. muricatus was described from Europe as A. ×tarraconensis Sennen & Pau (see J. L. Carretero 1979) and may be expected in North America in the future in places of possible co-occurrence of the parental species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 430.
Parent taxa Amaranthaceae > Amaranthus > subg. Albersia
Sibling taxa
A. acanthochiton, A. albus, A. arenicola, A. australis, A. blitoides, A. blitum, A. californicus, A. cannabinus, A. caudatus, A. crassipes, A. crispus, A. cruentus, A. dubius, A. fimbriatus, A. floridanus, A. graecizans, A. greggii, A. hybridus, A. hypochondriacus, A. muricatus, A. obcordatus, A. palmeri, A. polygonoides, A. powellii, A. pumilus, A. retroflexus, A. scleropoides, A. spinosus, A. tamaulipensis, A. thunbergii, A. torreyi, A. tricolor, A. tuberculatus, A. viridis, A. viscidulus, A. watsonii, A. wrightii
Name authority Linnaeus: Mant. Pl. 2: 295. (1771)
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