| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual to tree
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves alternate or opposite, simple, generally entire, bract-like upward; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cymes, often arrayed ± in spikes or panicles; bracts 1–3 per flower, generally membranous-scarious, tip often short-pointed or spine-like
Flower generally small, uni- or bisexual, radial; sepals 0–5, fused at base or free, often ± scarious; petals 0; stamens 0–5, opposite sepals (staminodes sometimes alternating), filaments sometimes fused at base; ovary superior, 1-chambered, ovules 1–several, erect or pendent on ± basal stalks, styles 0–3, stigma head-like or 2–3-lobed
Fruit: utricle to circumscissile capsule
Seed lenticular to spheric, hard
Genera in family: ± 65 genera, ± 900 species: tropical, subtropical
Reference: [Robertson 1981 J Arnold Arbor 62:267–313]
Annual, monoecious or dioecious
Leaves alternate; blade linear to ovate
Inflorescence: cymes in dense, spike-like clusters; bract 1, tip generally short-pointed or -spined, generally scarious; bractlets 0–2
Staminate flower: sepals 3–5, ± equal, ± as bracts; stamens (1)3–5, filaments free; staminodia 0
Pistillate flower: sepals (3–)5, ± equal, scarious except midvein, fused at base, falling with fruit; ovary compressed-ovoid, styles (2)3, stigmas slender, papillate, ovule 1, erect
Fruit circumscissile or indehiscent, smooth or inflated-wrinkled; walls membranous to spongy-hardened
Seed 1, lenticular, smooth, reddish to black
Species in genus: ± 60 species: worldwide; some potherbs, some cultivated for seed
Etymology: (Greek: unfading, from persistent bracts and sepals)
Some species (especially A. cruentus, A. powellii, A. retroflexus) hybridize complexly
Reference: [Tucker & Sauer Madroño 1958 14:252–261]
| Introduced |
Plant erect, 3–20+ dm, often reddish, monoecious
Leaf: petiole 25–180 mm; blade 60–200 mm, lanceolate to ovate
Inflorescence: panicle of spike-like clusters, dense, terminal, 30–50 cm, ± 15 cm wide, diamond-shaped; terminal cluster generally erect; bracts ± 2 mm, scarious below middle
Staminate flower: sepals 4–5, 2–2.4 mm; stamens 5
Pistillate flower: sepals generally 5, 1.2–1.8 mm, subequal, oblong to elliptic, margins not overlapping in fruit, acute to rounded
Fruit 1.5–2.5 mm, circumscissile; style base slender, stigmas 3, erect
Seed ± 1 mm wide, dark reddish
Ecology: Disturbed places, roadsides, fields
Elevation: < 200 m.
Bioregional distribution: Great Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area
Distribution outside California: to e US, Asia, e Africa; native to S.America
Widely cultivated for food.