AMARANTHUS DEFLEXUS

Family:- AMARANTHACEAE

Common Names:- Large-fruited amaranth

Synonyms:- Albersia deflexa, Euxolus deflexus, Glomeraria deflexa.

Meaning:- Amaranthus (Gr) Unfading, reference to the everlasting flowers.

Deflexus (L) Bent sharpely backwards, deflexed.

General description:- Short-lived decumbent perennial.

Stems:-

a) up to 40 cm.

b) usually slender, much-branched.

c) densely puberulent in the upper part.

Leaves:-

a) 3-5 cm.

b) rhombic-ovate, obtuse.

c) margin finely undulate.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence:

a) usually dense.

b) terminal, spicate, becoming interrupted and leafy towards the base.

2) Bracteoles:

a) 1/3-1/2 as long as the perianth.

b) ovate, wide at the base, ending abruptly in a sharp point (mucronate).

3) Perianth-segments:

a) 2 or 3.

b)1·2-1·5 mm.

c) linear to oblong-spathulate.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule.

a) 2·5-3 mm.

b) oblong-ovate.

c) inflated-membranous, smooth, with 3 dull green, longitudinal veins.

d) not dehiscing transversely.

2) Seeds:

a) much smaller than the fruit.

Key features:-

1) Fruit indehiscent or dehiscing irregularly inflated.

2) Leaves obuse.

3) Stems puberulent above.

4) Bracteoles much shorter than the perianth segments.

Habitat:- Roadsides, wasteground, trampled areas, coastal habitats. 0600(-1000)

Distribution:- Throughout Greece. Native to temperate South America, now almost

a cosmopolitan weed, naturalised in the Mediterranean area since the early 19th

century. Limited distribution on Crete mainly around coastal areas.

Flowering time:- May-Oct.

Photos by:- An Other