Species: Amaranthus viridis
English Name: Wild Coxcomb
Chinese Name: 青葙、野雞莧、狗尾莧
Family: Amaranthaceae
Description:
Herbs annual, 30-100 cm tall. Stem erect, green or red, glabrous, often branched. Leaves green, often tinged red; petiole absent to 1.5 cm; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate, lanceolate, or lanceolate-linear, rarely ovate-oblong, 5-8 × 1-3 cm, base attenuate, apex acuminate or acute. Spikes narrowly cylindric or with a conic apex, 3-10 cm, not branched. Flowers dense. Bracts and bracteoles white, shiny, lanceolate, 3-4 mm, with midvein, apex acuminate. Tepals white, with a pink tip or nearly pink, then white, oblong-lanceolate, 6-10 mm, with midvein, apex acuminate. Filaments 5-6 mm, free part 2.5-3 mm; anthers purple. Ovary shortly stalked; style purple, 3-5 mm. Utricles ovoid, 3-3.5 mm, enveloped in persistent perianth. Seeds compressed-reniform, ca. 1.5 mm in diam. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jun-Oct. 2n = 36, 72, 84*.
Photos used under a Creative Commons license
References:
– Wu ZY, Raven PH, Hong DY (eds) (2003). Flora of China, Volume 5: Ulmaceae through Basellaceae. Science Press, Beijing, and Missouri Bot Garden Press, St. Louis