Amaranthus palmeri S.Watson

Carelessweed (en), Amarante de Palmer (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Amaranthaceae > Amaranthus

Characteristics

Plants glabrous or nearly so. Stems erect, branched, usually (0.3-)0.5-1.5(-3) m; proximal branches often ascending. Leaves: long-petiolate; blade obovate or rhombic-obovate to elliptic proximally, sometimes lanceolate distally, 1.5-7 × 1-3.5 cm, base broadly to narrowly cuneate, margins entire, plane, apex subobtuse to acute, usually with terminal mucro. Inflorescences terminal, linear spikes to panicles, usually drooping, occasionally erect, especially when young, with few axillary clusters, uninterrupted or interrupted in proximal part of plant. Bracts: of pistillate flowers with long-excurrent midrib, 4-6 mm, longer than tepals, apex acuminate or mucronulate; of staminate flowers, 4 mm, equaling or longer than outer tepals, apex long-acuminate. Pistillate flowers: tepals 1.7-3.8 mm, apex acuminate, mucronulate; style branches spreading; stigmas 2(-3). Staminate flowers: tepals 5, unequal, 2-4 mm, apex acute; inner tepals with prominent midrib excurrent as rigid spine, apex long-acuminate or mucronulate; stamens 5. Utricles tan to brown, occasionally reddish brown, obovoid to subglobose, 1.5-2 mm, shorter than tepals, at maturity walls thin, almost smooth or indistinctly rugose. Seeds dark reddish brown to brown, 1-1.2 mm diam., shiny.
More
Dioecious; erect, 3–10(–20) dm; lvs long-petioled, rhombic-ovate, or rhombic-lanceolate, 3–10 cm; terminal thyrse to 5 dm, 1–1.5 cm thick, the lateral ones shorter or none; bracts mostly 4–6 mm, with heavy, spinosely excurrent midvein; male fls with 5 unequal sep, the outer 3.5–4 mm, acuminate, with conspicuous, long-excurrent midvein, the inner 2.5–3 mm, obtuse or emarginate; female fls with 5 recurved-spatulate sep, the outer 3–4 mm, acute, with the midvein excurrent as a rigid point, the inner 2–2.5 mm, emarginate; fr 1.5–2 mm, circumscissile at the middle; style-branches 2(3); seed 1–1.3 mm, dark reddish-brown; 2n=32, 34. Dry soil; s. Calif. to Okla., Kans., Neb., and La., s. to Mex., and at scattered stations in our range as a weed.
An annual herb which grows to 90 cm high. The stems and leaves are smooth. Leaves have long leaf stalks. They are alternate arranged around the stem. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. The flowers are in cylinder shaped spikes 60 cm long.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality
Pollination
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.9
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c4

Environment

It grows in tropical and temperate places. It grows naturally in waste places and fields at low elevations, also in interior valleys and deserts in California in South-western North America. It can grow in arid places.
More
Waste places and fields at low elevations, also in interior valleys and deserts in California.
Waste places and fields at low elevations, also in interior valleys and deserts in California.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 5-7
Soil texture 2-5
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-12

Usage

The leaves and seeds are edible cooked. The leaves can be dried and used later in soups. The seeds are hard so should be crushed before using. CAUTION: This plant can accumulate nitrates if grown with high nitrogen inorganic fertilisers and these are poisonous.
Uses animal food dye food food additive material medicinal non-vertebrate poison poison
Edible leaves seeds stems
Therapeutic use Poison (unspecified), Soap (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 10 - 15
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) 19 - 30
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Amaranthus palmeri habit picture by Eli Small (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Amaranthus palmeri leaf picture by Peter Brand (cc-by-sa)
Amaranthus palmeri leaf picture by Elizabeth Srejic (cc-by-sa)
Amaranthus palmeri leaf picture by Eli Small (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Amaranthus palmeri fruit picture by Eli Small (cc-by-sa)
Amaranthus palmeri fruit picture by Blake W (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Amaranthus palmeri world distribution map, present in Anguilla, Belarus, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Dominican Republic, France, Greece, India, Israel, Mexico, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Portugal, Russian Federation, United States of America, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:327376-2
WFO ID wfo-0000530390
COL ID CH52
BDTFX ID 3994
INPN ID 82009
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Amaranthus palmeri var. glomeratus Amaranthus palmeri