Amaranthus deflexus

Amaranth

Family: Amaranthaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Amaranth is a naturalized perennial herb found in central western and southwestern California in disturbed areas like railroad right-of-ways at elevations below 650 meters. Flowering from May to November, this plant produces green flowers in spike-like inflorescences up to 2.5 centimeters wide. Growing with prostrate to ascending stems 10 to 50 centimeters tall that are branched at the base and occasionally brown or green, it has a sprawling growth habit. Its leaves are rhombic-ovate to lanceolate, 10 to 30 millimeters long with wedge-shaped bases and somewhat wavy margins. The small brown fruit is ovoid, inflated, and approximately 2 to 3 millimeters long.

Habitat: Railroad right-of-ways, disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Nov

Elevation: < 650 m

Bioregions: ScV, CW, SW

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Alameda, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Contra Costa, San Diego, San Mateo, San Francisco, Butte, Santa Clara, Marin, San Bernardino, Monterey, Stanislaus, Santa Cruz, Riverside, Sacramento, Yolo, Sonoma, Imperial, Solano, Nevada, Napa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.