Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Most of the Amaranthus species are summer annual weeds and are commonly referred to as pigweeds. Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in summer or autumn. 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.
Amaranthus blitum, commonly called purple amaranth or Guernsey pigweed, is an annual plant species in the economically important plant family Amaranthaceae.
Amaranthus viridis is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as slender amaranth or green amaranth.
Amaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and quilete.
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, blero and quintonil in Spanish.
Amaranthus torreyi is a species of flowering plant that is sometimes considered to be a synonym of Amaranthus watsonii. Its common name is Torrey's Amaranth. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
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 tricolor, known as edible amaranth, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Amaranthus, part of the family Amaranthaceae.
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 dubius, the red spinach, Chinese spinach,, spleen amaranth, hon-toi-moi, yin choy, hsien tsai, or Arai keerai is a plant species. It belongs to the economically important family Amaranthaceae.
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. In Mexico, it is called huautli (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwawtli] and alegría ([aleˈɣɾi.a] and in English it has several common names, including blood amaranth, red amaranth, purple amaranth, prince's feather, and Mexican grain amaranth. In Maharashtra, it is called shravani maath or rajgira. In Kerala, it is called chuvanna cheera or commonly, cheera.
Amaranthus pumilus, the seaside amaranth or seabeach amaranth, is a species of amaranth. This annual plant is now a threatened species, although it was formerly scattered along the eastern coast of the United States, its native range.
Epilobium ciliatum, known by the common names fringed willowherb, American willowherb, slender willow herb, and northern willow herb is a species of flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. This species is native to much of North America, southern South America, and East Asia. It is an introduced species in much of Eurasia and Australia.
Amaranthus powellii is a species of amaranth known by the common names Powell's amaranth and green amaranth. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, but it is common throughout most of the rest of the temperate Americas as a naturalized species. It has also been introduced to other continents, including Australia and Europe. This is an erect annual herb growing to a maximum height near two meters. It has leaves up to 9 centimeters long, those on the upper part of the plant lance-shaped and lower on the stem diamond or roughly oval in shape. The inflorescence holds several long, narrow clusters of both male and female flowers interspersed with spiny green bracts. The fruit is a smooth dehiscent capsule about 3 millimeters long containing shiny reddish black seeds.
Gratiola neglecta is a species of flowering plant known by the common name clammy hedgehyssop. It is native to much of North America, including most all of the United States and the southern half of Canada. It is generally found in moist to wet habitat. This is an unobtrusive annual herb producing a glandular stem up to about 30 centimeters tall. The lance-shaped to oval leaves are arranged oppositely about the stem. They are up to 5 centimeters long and sometimes toothed along the edges. The inflorescence is a raceme of nearly cylindrical tubular whitish flowers each about a centimeter long. At the base of each flower is a fringe of five pointed sepals. The fruit is a spherical capsule about half a centimeter wide.
Orthocarpus luteus is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name yellow owl's-clover. It is native to much of western and central North America, where it grows in many types of plateau, grassland, and mountain habitat.
Penstemon caesius is a species of penstemon known by the common name San Bernardino beardtongue. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, as well as the southern mountains of the Sierra Nevada. It is a member of the flora on rocky slopes and in coniferous forests and alpine habitat in the mountains. It is a perennial herb with erect branches up to about 80 centimeters in maximum height. The lower branches may be woody, the upper hairless and waxy, and the inflorescence glandular. Most of the leaves are basal on the plant, rounded or oval, and up to about 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence produces purple-blue tubular flowers roughly 2 centimeters long. The flower has a glandular outer surface, a coat of hairs inside, and a hairless staminode. The flowers of this penstemon are pollinated by bees of genus Osmia, which feed on their nectar.
Stachys bullata is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name California hedgenettle.
Tricardia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the borage family containing the single species Tricardia watsonii, which is known by the common name threehearts. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in deserts and mountains in sandy open habitat, often beneath shrubs. It is a perennial herb growing from a taproot and a woody caudex covered with the shreddy remains of previous seasons' herbage. It produces several erect stems up to about 40 centimeters tall. Most of the leaves are located in a basal rosette about the caudex. They are lance-shaped and coated thinly in woolly hairs. They are up to 9 centimeters long and are borne on petioles. A few smaller leaves occur higher on the stem. Flowers occur in a loose cyme at the top of the stem. Each has a calyx of five sepals. The outer three are heart-shaped and green to pink or purple in color, and the inner two are much smaller and narrower. The flower within is bell-shaped, white with central purple markings, and roughly half a centimeter wide. The fruit is a capsule just under a centimeter long which contains 4 to 8 seeds.
Amaranthus muricatus, the so-called African amaranth, is a species in the genus Amaranthus native to South America; Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. It is an invasive species in Africa, Europe and Australia, and to a lesser degree in North America and Asia. It is a decumbent perennial that does well in arid climates.
