Amaranthus albus L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Amaranthaceae

• Scientific Name

  Amaranthus albus L.

• Description

  Species Description - Monoecious; bushy-branched, to 1 m high and wide, the stems whitish; lvs of flowering branches elliptic to oblong or obovate, 0.5–3 mm, pale green, obtuse or rounded, attenuate to a long petiole; early lvs often to 8 cm; fls in short, dense, axillary clusters; bracts rigid, subulate, 2–3 times as long as the fls; sep 3, with simple midvein, those of the pistillate fls straight, acutish, unequal, the longest nearly equaling the fr; stamens 3; style-branches very short, erect; fr lenticular, 1.3–1.7 mm, rugulose when dry, circumscissile at the middle; seed suborbicular, 0.7–1 mm; 2n=32. Fields and waste ground; native to the prairies and plains of c. N. Amer., now a weed throughout our range and elsewhere. (A. graecizans, misapplied)

• Common Names

  tumbleweed