Powell Amaranth, Amaranthus powellii
Family: Amaranthaceae; Pigweed Family
Vegetative Characteristics:
Seedling: cotyledons glabrous, green; hypocotyl glabrous, red or green
Stems: erect, branched, up to 2.0 m tall, glabrous below, villous above
Leaves: alternate, simple, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, margins entire, petioles slender
Reproductive Characteristics:
Inflorescences: monoecious, crowded terminal spike with axillary clusters; bracts rigid, two to three times length of sepals; pistillate sepals 2.0-3.0 mm long, oblong usually larger than utricle; staminate flowers scarious, 1-nerved
Fruits: utricle, subglobous or compressed-ovoid, numerous per spike, wrinkled when dry, equal to or shorter than sepals, circumscissile dehiscent.
Seeds: circular or oval, black, lustrous
Special Identifying Features:
⇒ erect summer annual; bracts rigid, longer than sepals; utricle circumscissile dehiscent; spikes thinner than Amaranthus retroflexus
