Status: Native
Synonyms:
None
Amaranthus palmeri is a very common weedy annual of disturbed ground a lower elevations
in the Gila Wilderness. The flower spike is thin and the floral bracts have spines at the tips. The very small flowers develop into single-seeded utricles, a fruit with a membranous wall to which the seed is not connected. The utricle usually is circumscissile, falling away like the tops of Play-Dough eggs used to do. The seeds usually fall easily from the utricle. They are shiny, smooth, and red or black. They seem to develop a central depression over the winter.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Amaranthus palmeri, photo Russ Kleinman, Burro Mtns., Saddlerock Cyn., June 17, 2007
Amaranthus palmeri, detail of inflorescence, photo Russ Kleinman, Burro Mtns., Saddlerock Cyn., June 17, 2007
Amaranthus palmeri, 3x macro of seed still in bottom of utricle which did not split as regularly as the one next to it, photo Russ Kleinman, Tyrone, Jan. 13, 2009
Amaranthus palmeri, 2x macro of seeds, photo Russ Kleinman, Tyrone, Jan. 13, 2009
Amaranthus palmeri, growth habit, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, September 9, 2011
Amaranthus palmeri, closeup of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, October 9, 2011
Amaranthus palmeri, alternate leaf arrangement, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Pinos Altos, October 9, 2011
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