Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Caryophyllales

Amaranthaceae - Amaranth or pigweed family

Chenopodiaceae

Brenan, J.P.M. (1988) Chenopodiaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(1)

Townsend, C.C. (1988) Amaranthaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(1)

Description of the family

Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes woody at the base or, rarely, small shrubs (Psilotrichum scleranthum). Stipules 0. Leaves simple, alternate or opposite. Inflorescence various, bracteate; bracts hyaline to membranous, straw-coloured to white, subtending one or more flowers. Flowers bisexual or unisexual, mostly actinomorphic with 2 bracteoles, frequently in ultimate small 3-flowered cymes, the lateral flowers often sterile and modified into scales, spines, hooks or hairs. Tepals often green or white or variously coloured, usually 5, arranged in 1 whorl, membranous to firm, finally hardening and often falling with the ripe fruit. Ovary superior, 1-locular. Fruit a capsule, rarely a berry.

Comment: Amaranthaceae is a family which lacks the usual differentiation into sepals and petals, possessing instead 1 whorl of variously coloured tepals and each flower usually subtended by 1 bract and 2 bracteoles.

Worldwide: 71 genera and 750 species, mostly tropical and warm, few temperate.

Zimbabwe: 6 cultivated genera and 8 cultivated taxa.

Gomphrena globosa

Links to cultivated genera:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

GenusContent
Alternanthera Forssk.Description, Image
Bassia All.Description
Celosia L.Description
Gomphrena L.Description, Image
Iresine P. BrowneDescription, Image
Rhagodia R. Br.Description

Other sources of information about Amaranthaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Burundi: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Amaranthaceae
Flora of the DRC: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Malawi: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Amaranthaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Amaranthaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Zambia: Amaranthaceae
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Amaranthaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: Amaranthaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Amaranthaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Amaranthaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Amaranthaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Amaranthaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Amaranthaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Amaranthaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Amaranthaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Amaranthaceae
Wikipedia: Amaranthaceae
Plants of the World Online: Amaranthaceae
Tropicos: Amaranthaceae



Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants: Family page: Amaranthaceae.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/family.php?family_id=8, retrieved 9 December 2024

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