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Alternanthera paronychioides A.St.-hil.

Smooth joyweed (en), Alternanthère (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Amaranthaceae > Alternanthera

Characteristics

Herbs, perennial, 1-8 dm. Stems prostrate, villous, glabrate. Leaves sessile; blade elliptic, ovate-rhombic, or oval, 0.6-2.5 × 0.3-1.1 cm, apex acute or obtuse, villous, soon glabrate. Inflores-cences axillary, sessile; heads white, globose, 0.5-1 cm diam.; bracts less than 1/2 as long as tepals. Flowers: tepals monomorphic, white, lanceolate, 3-5 mm, apex acuminate, without rigid, spinose tips, hairs not barbed; stamens 5; anthers 3-5, globose; pseudostaminodes ligulate, shorter than filaments, margins entire or dentate. Utricles included within tepals, stramineous, orbiculate to rounded-obovate, 2-2.3 mm, apex truncate. Seeds lenticular, 1.2-1.5 mm.
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Herbs perennial. Stem densely barbellate hairy, glabrescent. Leaf blade oblanceolate or spatulate, 1.5-2 × 0.3-0.5 cm, abaxially barbellate hairy, apex obtuse to rounded. Heads sessile, ovoid to globose, often hairy at base. Tepals white, ovate-oblong, scarious, hairy along veins, outer 3 segments: 3-veined in proximal half, inner 2 somewhat laterally compressed, 1-veined, apex acute to mucronate. Stamens 5; anthers yellow, ellipsoid; staminodes 3-or 4-toothed, ca. 1/2 as long as stamens; stigma capitate. Utricle brown, obcordate.
A herb. It lies along the ground. It has white hairs. The leaves are opposite. They are spoon shaped and have a short leaf stalk. The flowers are in the axils of leaves.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.1 - 0.8
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It grows wild along roadsides etc. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 100 m above sea level.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 5-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable. They are fried or mixed with other vegetables.
Uses medicinal
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Alternanthera paronychioides habit picture by arlas (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Alternanthera paronychioides leaf picture by arlas (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Alternanthera paronychioides flower picture by arlas (cc-by-sa)
Alternanthera paronychioides flower picture by arlas (cc-by-sa)
Alternanthera paronychioides flower picture by arlas (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Alternanthera paronychioides world distribution map, present in Brazil, China, Pakistan, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:327343-2
WFO ID wfo-0000528723
COL ID C9J9
BDTFX ID 3719
INPN ID 81829
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Achyranthes chacoensis Achyranthes paronychioides Alternanthera leucantha Alternanthera virgata Bucholzia polygonoides Teleianthera manillensis Alternanthera amoena Alternanthera austrotrinidadis Alternanthera polygonoides f. halimioides Alternanthera polygonoides f. pubescens Alternanthera achyrantha var. angustifolia Alternanthera ficoidea var. normalis Alternanthera paronychioides var. amazonica Alternanthera paronychioides var. floribunda Alternanthera paronychioides var. ovata Alternanthera polygonoides var. austrotrinitatis Alternanthera polygonoides var. ficoidea Alternanthera polygonoides var. radicans Bucholzia polygonoides var. diffusa Telanthera polygonoides var. brachiata Telanthera polygonoides var. diffusa Alternanthera paronychioides

Lower taxons

Alternanthera paronychioides var. pilosa
WorldFloraDB 2024