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Genus:
Amaranthus (pigweeds)
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants)
> Core Eudicots
> Order: Caryophyllales > Family:
Amaranthaceae > Subfamily: Amaranthoideae
About 60 species, found worldwide mainly in
warmer regions. Eight species are native to southern Africa, 10 species are
naturalised, and a further species is cultivated in the region. Species of Amaranthus are cultivated and the
leaves cooked like spinach ('morogo').
Species native to southern Africa
List from
Plants
of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI),
Flora of
Zimbabwe and
Flora of Mozambique.
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Amaranthus capensis |
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Amaranthus dinteri |
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Amaranthus lividus
Recorded from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. See
Flora of Zimbabwe. |
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Amaranthus praetermissus |
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Amaranthus schinzianus |
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Amaranthus spinosus
Recorded from Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and naturalised in South Africa. See
Flora of Zimbabwe. |
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Amaranthus thunbergii
An annual herb native to southern Africa, where is is found throughout the
region and is eaten as a leafy vegetable. See
Flora of Zimbabwe. |
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Amaranthus tricolor
Recorded from Mozambique. |
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Species naturalised in southern Africa
List from
Plants
of Southern Africa - an Online Checklist (SANBI),
Flora of
Zimbabwe and
Flora of Mozambique.
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Amaranthus blitoides
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Amaranthus caudatus (Love-lies-bleeding)
Native to South America. See
Wikipedia |
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Amaranthus deflexus |
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Amaranthus dubius |
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Amaranthus graecizans |
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Amaranthus hybridus (Common pigweed, Prince's feather)
Native from eastern USA to South America. Grows as a weed but is also cultivated
for the leaves, which are eaten like Spinach. Amaranthus become poisonous if grown on nutrient
rich soils (e.g. on compost heaps and in heavily fertilised soil) because under
these conditions they accumulate dangerous levels of oxalates. See
Flora of Zimbabwe. |
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Amaranthus muricatus |
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Amaranthus retroflexus |
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Amaranthus standleyanus |
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Amaranthus viridis |
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Other species, cultivated in southern Africa
Information from Glen (2002).
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Amaranthus hypochondriacus (Huuhtli, Alegria, Bledo, Rajgira,
Keera)
Native to North America. |
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Publications
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Adamson, R.S. 1936. Notes on the species of Amaranthus
in the Western Cape Province. Journal of South African Botany 2:
191-195.
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Brenan, J.P.M. 1981. The genus Amaranthus
in southern Africa. Journal of South African Botany 47, 3: 451-492.
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Glen, H.F. 2002. Cultivated Plants of
Southern Africa. Jacana, Johannesburg.
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