Amaranthus
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Authority
Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.
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Family
Amaranthaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Annual branched erect or diffusely spreading glabrous or pubescent herbs, with petioled pinnately veined leaves and small monoecious polygamous or dioecious, green or purplish, mostly 3-bracteolate flowers in dense terminal spikes or axillary clusters. Calyx of 1-5 distinct sepals. Stamens 1-5; anthers longitudinally dehiscent. Styles or stigmas 2 or 3. Fruit an ovoid or oblong utricle, 1-seeded, 2-3-beaked by the styles. Embryo annular. [Greek, unfading flower, from the dry, unwithering bracts.] About 60 species of wide geographic distribution. Type species: Amaranthus caudatus L.