Family |
Amaranthaceae
Amaranthus retroflexus
L.
Amaranthus retroflexus L.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. CLI nº 1; 1966)
Life-form & habit : Tall, coarse annual that often reaches or exceeds 1 m; stem simple or sparingly branched, clothed in short, crisp, spreading hairs.
Leaves : Long-petiolate, oval-to-rhomboid, with prominent mid-ribs; slightly hairy along the veins on the underside.
Inflorescence : Axillary glomerules coalesce into short, thick, densely packed spikes; the upper spikes form a stout, congested terminal panicle that tapers towards the tip.
Bracteoles : Rigid, 4 – 6 mm long, clearly surpassing the flowers and ending in a sharp, spine-like awn.
Flowers : Pentamerous; sepals linear-cuneate, widening towards the top, membranous, whitish, truncate or slightly notched.
Fruit : Elliptic, laterally compressed pyxidium with a longitudinally wrinkled lid; seed black and shiny.
Flowering period : Summer to autumn (June – October).
Habitat : Cultivated fields, fallow ground and other disturbed, nutrient-rich sites.
Distribution in Lebanon & Syria : Widespread—from the coastal plain (Beirut, Saïda, Tripoli, Nahr el-Kelb) through foothill villages (Bikfaya, Deir el-Qamar) to the mid-mountain belt (Dimane, Ehden, ʿAïn Zehalta, Khan Sannine, Taʿnaïl, Ksara, Terbol) and scattered localities in western and southern Syria (Latakia, Slenfé, Houreiré, Quneitra, Soueida, Chahba).
Native range : Sub-cosmopolitan weed; originally native to North America, now naturalised throughout the Mediterranean region.