Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some of the more well known names include "prostrate pigweed" and "love lies bleeding". Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in summer or fall. Amaranth varies in flower, leaf, and stem color with a range of striking pigments from the spectrum of maroon to crimson and can grow longitudinally from 1 to 2.5 metres tall with a cylindrical, succulent, fibrous stem that is hollow with grooves and bracteoles when mature. There are approximately 75 species in the genus, 10 of which are dioecious and native to North America with the remaining 65 monoecious species endemic to every continent from tropical lowlands to the Himalayas. Members of this genus share many characteristics and uses with members of the closely related genus Celosia. Amaranth grain is collected from the genus. The leaves of some species are also eaten.
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumbleweed is in effect the entire plant apart from the root system, but in other plants, a hollow fruit or inflorescence might detach instead. Xerophyte tumbleweed species occur most commonly in steppe and arid ecosystems, where frequent wind and the open environment permit rolling without prohibitive obstruction.
Amaranthus hybridus, commonly called green amaranth, slim amaranth, smooth amaranth, smooth pigweed, or red amaranth, is a species of annual flowering plant. It is a weedy species found now over much of North America and introduced into Europe and Eurasia.
Amaranthus wrightii is a species of flowering plant. It goes by the common name of Wright's amaranth. It occurs from western Texas into southern Arizona and as far north as Colorado at elevations between 500–2,000 m (1,600–6,600 ft).
Amaranthus hypochondriacus is an ornamental plant commonly known as Prince-of-Wales feather or prince's-feather. Originally endemic to Mexico, it is called quelite, bledo and quintonil in Spanish.
Amaranthus spinosus, commonly known as the spiny amaranth, spiny pigweed, prickly amaranth or thorny amaranth, is a plant that is native to the tropical Americas, but is present on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It can be a serious weed of rice cultivation in Asia.
Amaranthus retroflexus is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae with several common names, including red-root amaranth, redroot pigweed, red-rooted pigweed, common amaranth, pigweed amaranth, and common tumbleweed.
Amaranthus albus is an annual species of flowering plant. It is native to the tropical Americas but a widespread introduced species in other places, including Europe, Africa and Australia.
Amaranthus fimbriatus is a species of glabrous flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae family. It is commonly known as fringed amaranth or fringed pigweed. The plant is an annual herb that can often grow up to 0.7 m (2 ft.) in height. The flower is greenish to maroon. It is found in North America and in Mexico. It often grows on sandy, gravelly slopes, semideserts or in disturbed habitats. It usually blooms after the summer rains in these arid regions. It is considered to be an invasive weed.
Amaranthus cruentus is a flowering plant species that yields the nutritious staple amaranth grain. It is one of three Amaranthus species cultivated as a grain source, the other two being Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus caudatus. It has several common names, including blood amaranth, red amaranth, purple amaranth, prince's feather, and Mexican grain amaranth.
The Flora of North America North of Mexico is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenland. It includes bryophytes and vascular plants. All taxa are described and included in dichotomous keys, distributions of all species and infraspecific taxa are mapped, and about 20% of species are illustrated with line drawings prepared specifically for FNA. It is expected to fill 30 volumes when completed and will be the first work to treat all of the known flora north of Mexico; in 2015 it was expected that the series would conclude in 2017. Twenty-nine of the volumes have been published as of 2022.
Amaranthus acanthochiton, the greenstripe, is an annual plant species of the genus Amaranthus in the family Amaranthaceae. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico (Chihuahua), growing at elevations of 1000–2000 m where it is uncommon.
Amaranthus australis is also known as southern amaranth or southern water-hemp. The plant usually grows from 1 to 3 m in height, though some have been known to grow up to 9 m (30 ft) high. The stems can be up to 30 cm in diameter. It is a herbaceous annual. It is found in many southern states of the United States, Mexico, the West Indies, and South America. They are frequently found in wetland areas. It is herbaceous, short lived perennial. The largest is 4.6 m (15 ft) tall.
Amaranthus blitoides, commonly called mat amaranth, prostrate pigweed, procumbent pigweed, prostrate amaranth, or matweed, is a glabrous annual plants species. It usually grows up to 0.6 m, though it may grow up to 1 m. It flowers in the summer to fall.
Amaranthus floridanus, the Florida amaranth, is a flowering plant endemic to Florida.
Heliopsis is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to dry prairies in North and South America. The sunflower-like composite flowerheads are usually yellow, up to 8 cm (3 in) in diameter, and are borne in summer. Species are commonly called ox-eye or oxeye.
Amaranthus tuberculatus, commonly known as roughfruit amaranth, rough-fruited water-hemp, tall waterhemp, or common waterhemp, is a species of flowering plant. It is a summer annual broadleaf with a germination period that lasts several months. Tall waterhemp has been reported as a weed in 40 of 50 U.S. states.
Ampelaster is a North American monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. There is a single known species, Ampelaster carolinianus, with the common name of climbing aster. It is native to the southeastern United States, in the States of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Asphondylia amaranthi is a species of gall midge in the family Cecidomyiidae.
