Amaranthus hypochondriacus

Prince's-feather

Family: Amaranthaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Prince's-feather is a naturalized plant found in southern California valleys, San Bernardino Mountains, and southern coastal areas in disturbed areas and roadsides at elevations below 200 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces dark red or purple flowers in thick, stiff panicle-like inflorescences up to 20 centimeters long. Growing with erect stems 1 to 2 meters tall that are often red or purple-tinged and slightly hairy, the plant develops branching or unbranched growth. Its leaves are rhombic-ovate or widely lanceolate, 4 to 12 centimeters long with wedge-shaped bases and acute or obtuse tips. The fruit is a small circumscissile capsule 2 to 3 millimeters long, ranging in color from purple to red or brown.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, roadsides

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: ScV, SCo, SnBr

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