DYSPHANIA AMBROSIOIDES

Family and Genus:- See- AMARANTHACEAE

Common Name:- Wormseed, Jesuit's tea, Mexican tea.

Homotypic Synonyms:-This species has 70 synonyms 13, Homotypic and 57

Heterotypic. For the full list Click here

Meaning:- Dysphania Meaning unknown

Ambrosioides (Gr) Ambrosia-like.

General description:- Strongly aromatic annual, rarely short-lived perennial.

Stems:-

1) Up to 1·2 m, erect, ridged, much branched, pubescent (rarely with longer hairs).

with many sessile glands.

Leaves:-

1) Shortly petiolate.

a) blade, mostly3-7 cm. usually lanceolate to narrowly elliptical, margin sinuate-

dentate or entire.

Flowers:-

1) Inflorescence, of several slender spikes with flowers in small ± dense

glomerules.

2) Perianth segments, 5, green, glabrous fused up to halfway.

Fruit:-

1) Seeds, 0·5-0·8 mm diam, roundish-lenticular, obtuse at the edges almost

smooth.

Key features:-

1) Sepals in fruit, free in at least the upper ½.

2) Calyx, neither saccate nor reticulated dorsally.

3) Seeds, 0·5-0·8 mm.

4) Inflorescence, distinctly paniculate.

5) Leaves, entire or dentate.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Weed of gardens, harbours and ruderal habitats 0-400 m.

Distribution:- Mainly in coastal areas throughout Greece, but also scattered in the

north. Probably native to tropical America. Widely naturalised in C and S Europe

and elsewhere. Limited distribution on Crete.

Flowering time:- June-Oct.

Photos by:- Thomas Giannakis