Flora of North America species comparison

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Kochia americana

Kochia

red sage
Habit Plants whitish gray or grayish green, 5–35(–50) cm, tomentose-sericeous or almost glabrous. Herbs and subshrubs, annual or perennial, glabrous or densely tomentose-sericeous.
Stems

erect or ascending, simple or branched only at base;

branches ± erect.

erect, ascending, or prostrate, simple or branched, not jointed, not armed, not fleshy;

branches alternate [proximal sometimes almost opposite].
Leaves

sessile, overlapping;

blade linear, terete or semiterete, 4–25 × 0.5–2 mm, sericeous or almost glabrous.

alternate [rarely proximal almost opposite], sessile (sometimes narrowed into pseudopetiole);

blade obovate-lanceolate, lanceolate, linear, or filiform, flat or semiterete, base truncate, margins entire, apex rounded.
Inflorescences

spicate; 1–4-flowered in axils of bracts.

terminal, spicate or paniculately branched;

flowers solitary or in 2–5-flowered clusters in axils of bracts;

bracts leaflike.
Flowers

bisexual or pistillate, sessile;

perianth segments 5, with horizontal, membranous wing [sometimes reduced to slightly winged tubercles] adaxially;

stamens 5;

stigmas 2–3.
Perianth

segments white-tomentose or sometimes glabrate.

Seeds

wedge-shaped;

seed coat dull brown, slightly ribbed;

embryo annular;

perisperm copious.
Fruiting

structures: perianth covering utricles at maturity, utricles compressed-spheric or compressed-elliptic;

pericarp free or nearly so, membranous.
x

= 9.

Kochia americana

Kochia
Phenology Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat Alkaline soils, semideserts and deserts, dry lake margins, eroded mountain slopes, sometimes disturbed seminatural habitats
Elevation 500-2100 m (1600-6900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WY; n Mexico
from USDA
North America; Eurasia; Africa [Some species nearly worldwide (as introduced)]
Discussion

Densely pubescent plants may be recognized as Kochia americana var. vestita S. Watson. Additional study variability and phylogenetic patterns of K. americana would be very desirable.

Previously, this native North American species was erroneously referred to as Kochia prostrata auct. fl. Amer. Bor., non (Linnaeus) Schrader. Indeed, these species are habitually quite similar. Kochia prostrata (Linnaeus) Schrader, the Eurasian subshrub 15–100(–150) cm tall, with linear to filiform, flat or scarcely fleshy leaves 5–25 × 1–2 mm, is known in North American range management literature as “forage kochia” or “prostrate summer-cypress.” It is extremely variable morphologically and widely distributed in Eurasia, especially in steppe, semidesert, and desert zones. This species is being tested and already used locally as a potential forage plant for western United States ranges and has been an escaped or naturalized alien in Utah and adjacent states (W. A. Keller and A. T. Bleak 1974; S. L. Welsh 1984). It was reported as cultivated in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

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

Species 13–16 (3 in the flora).

Kochia occurs mostly in steppe, desert, and semidesert zones.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Annual herbs; proximal cauline leaves usually (1-)3-5-veined, distinctly cuneate at base, sometimes narrowed into pseudopetiole [17a. Kochia sect. Semibassia]
K. scoparia
1. Subshrubs, stem bases woody; all leaves 1-veined (or vein obscure), sessile [17b. Kochia sect. Neokochia]
→ 2
2. Stems abundantly branched near base, distal parts simple or nearly so, finely white- tomentose or becoming glabrous; leaves usually overlapping
K. americana
2. Stems solitary or little-branched at base, branched throughout, grayish or brownish puberulent; leaves generally not overlapping
K. californica
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 312. FNA vol. 4, p. 310. Author: Sergei L. Mosyakin.
Parent taxa Chenopodiaceae > Kochia > sect. Neokochia Chenopodiaceae
Sibling taxa
K. californica, K. scoparia
Subordinate taxa
K. americana, K. californica, K. scoparia
Synonyms Bassia americana, K. americana var. vestita, K. vestita Bassia section K.
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 9: 93. (1874) Roth: J. Bot. (Schrader) 1800(1): 307. (1801)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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