Prostrate Pigweed, Amaranthus blitoides
Family: Amaranthaceae; Pigweed Family
Vegetative Characteristics:
Seedling: cotyledons long, narrow; lower surface and stem deep red, upper surface shiny, glabrous; first leaf indented at tip
Stems: prostrate with erect tips, 0.3-0.9 m long, fleshy, nearly smooth, reddish, branched at base and less frequently apically
Leaves: alternate, 1.0-4.0 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, simple, ovate, shiny, broadest at tip
Reproductive Characteristics:
Inflorescences: monoecious, dense axillary clusters, not terminal; bracts oblong to lanceolate, erect, attenuate at apex to short spinose tip, 2.5-3.0 mm long; sepals oblong, acuminate, 1-nerved, green with white margins
Fruits: utricle, broadly ovoid, 1.7-2.5 mm long, smooth circumscissile dehiscent
Seeds: nearly circular, 1.5 mm diameter, flattened, shiny, black, notched at narrow end
Special Identifying Characteristics:
⇒ prostrate summer annual; stems not succulent, flowers axillary; utricle circumscissile
