E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Amaranthus albus L.
tumbleweed (prostrate pigweed; white pigweed)
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Amaranthus albus
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect or ascending, several, glabrous to short-hairy, branching basally forming a rounded plant to 1 m tall, tending to break off at the base at maturity and then behaving as a "tumbleweed".

Leaves:
Alternate or opposite; leaf blades rarely over 3 cm long, rounded, diamond-shaped to egg-shaped, callous-margined, bristle-tipped, narrowing to a slender stalk.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of small axillary clusters; bracts rigid; tepals mainly 3; stamens 1-3.

Fruits:
Capsules opening along an "equator", the top coming off like a lid, 1-seeded; seeds 0.6-1.0 mm long, lens-shaped.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry disturbed areas and waste places in the montane zone; infrequent in S BC; throughout N. America, S. America and the Old World.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Amaranthus albus var. pubescens (Uline & Bray) Fernald
Amaranthus graecizans L.
Amaranthus graecizans var. pubescens Uline & Bray
Amaranthus pubescens (Uline & Bray) Rydb.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Amaranthaceae
Flora North America treatment for Amaranthus albus
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-11-24 5:13:14 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.