AMARANTHUS HYPOCHONDRIACUS

Family and Genus:- See- AMARANTHACEAE

Common Name:- Prince's feather.

Homotypic Synonyms:- Amaranthus hybridus f. hypochondriacus,

Amaranthus hybridus var. hypochondriacus, Amaranthus hybridus subsp.

hypochondriacus.

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

Hypochondriacus (Gr) Sombre, melancholy.

General description:- Erect annual, usually reddish or purplish throughout.

Stems:-

1) 30-150 cm. stout, branched, erect or ascending, sparsely pubescent to almost

glabrous (pubescent) above, often reddish-tinged.

Leaves:-

1) 3-15 x 2-8 cm. long petiolate, broadly lanceolate to rhombic-ovate.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, elongate-spicate, often compound, with long branches, terminal.

panicle variously coloured, mostly erect, with up to 20 mm thick branches.

2) Bracteoles, 2.5-4(-5) mm. c. 1.5 times as long as the perianth.

3) Perianth-segments, 5, 2-3 mm.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, 2-2.5 mm. usually longer than the perianth, dehiscing transversely.

2) Seeds, c. 1 mm. black or pale.

Key features:-

1) Panicle, mostly erect, with up to 20 mm thick branches.

2) Bracteoles 1.5 times as long as the perianth.

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Habitat:- Fallow fields, ruderal habitats. 0-400 m.

Distribution:- Very scattered throughout Greece. Probably originated in

domestication in north America as a grain crop. Limited distribution on Crete.

Flowering time:- May-Oct.

Photos by:- An Other