SPECIES DESCRIPTION
AMARANTHUS DEFLEXUS
Family and Genus:- See- AMARANTHACEAE
Common Names:- Large-fruited amaranth
Homotypic 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:-
1) Up to 40 cm. usually slender, much-branched, densely puberulent in the upper
part.
Leaves:-
1) 3-5 cm. rhombic-ovate, obtuse, margin finely undulate.
Flowers:-
1) Inflorescence, usually dense, terminal, spicate, becoming interrupted and leafy
towards the base.
2) Bracteoles, 1/3-1/2 as long as the perianth, ovate, wide at the base, mucronate.
3) Perianth-segments, 2 or 3, 1·2-1·5 mm. linear to oblong-spathulate.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, 2·5-3 mm, oblong-ovate, inflated-membranous, smooth, with 3 dull
green, longitudinal veins, not dehiscing transversely.
2) Seeds, 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)
m.
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
