|
|
| |
MaltaWildPlants.com by Stephen Mifsud |
|
| |
|
 |  |  | |
External Links: |
Amaranthus blitum (Purple Amaranth) |
Amaranthus blitum (AMARANTHACEAE.) Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands at or after year 2000. |
|
Nomenclature and Basic Information |
Species name : |
Amaranthus blitumL. Published in Sp. Pl. 990 (1753) | Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
|
Plant Family : | Amaranthaceae
Juss. (The Amaranth Family) 42 species from the Amaranthaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Purple Amaranth | Maltese name(s) : | Denb id-dib tal-qsari | Status for Malta : | Species that was introduced in Malta after year 1492, but usually more recently and spreads rapidly to form large invasive populations to the detriment of native flora or ecosystems | Frequency : | Very Common
Common Frequent Scarce Rare
Very rare Extinct
| Growth form : |
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: THEROPHYTE (annuals)
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon | Legal Protection [link]: | Not Protected by Law (LN200/2011 or LN311/2006) | Red List (1989) : | Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands | Flowering Time : | May-Nov | Colour of Flowers: | Inconspicuous | Remarks : | Prefers urban places such as Sliema and St. Julians. Distinct from other Amaranthus spp. by its conspicuous notch at the apex of leaves. Leaves of A. viridis also have a notch but very small and not consistent in all leaves. |
|
Species Description and Distribution |
Habitat in Europe: |
Several anthropogenic habitats, esp. old cities, fields and farms |
Preferred habitat in Malta: |
Horticulture contaminant often in pots and gardens, but also escapes in waysides or field margins. |
Botanical Description: |
Stems 30-80 cm, procumbent to erect, glabrous. Leaves 2-6 cm, rhombic- to orbicular-ovate, with light or dark spots on the upper surface, subtruncate or emarginate, the margin often undulate. Inflorescence of axillary cymose clusters, forming a dense, more or less leafless spike towards the apex. Bracteoles 1/3-1/2 as long as the perianth, ovate with wide base, acute. Perianth-segments 3(-5), oblong-linear to spathulate. Fruit feebly rugose, without green veins, indehiscent or dehiscing irregularly. Seeds almost as large as the fruit. |
Chromosome number: |
2n=34 |
Distributional range: |
Naturalized in S. Europe |
Native region outside Europe: |
(C. & W. North America.) |
Distributional map in Europe and the Mediterranean region (2018):
|
 |
Occurrences in Europe. (from Flora Europaea pre year 1993): |
Albania, Austria and Liechtenstein, the Azores, the Balaeric Islands, Bulgaria, Crete, Czeck Republic and Slovakia, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Hungary, Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part), Introduced in  Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia and former USSR, Sweden |
Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region. (Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) -
Country codes |
Ab(A) AE(G) Ag Al Au Az Be(B) Bl(M N) Br Bu Ca Co Cr Ct Eg Ga(F) Ge Gg(A D G) Gr He Hs(G S) Hu It Lu Ma Md dMk Rf(CS) Sa Si(M S) Sl Sn Tn Tu(E) [Au Az(C F G J L M P S T) Be nBH nBu By Ca(C F G H L P T) nCo aDa nEs aFe nGa(F) Ge nGg nHo Hu nIJ nIr nLa nLt nMa Md(M) Mo aNo nPo aRf(C CS E NW S) Rf(K) Rm nSk nSr aSu Sy Uk(K U)] |
|
Images (2 images) | |
Amaranthus blitum - Image Code: AMRBL-0.
| Amaranthus blitum - Image Code: AMRBL-1.
| Only 2 images of Amaranthus blitum are available. If you can share your own images of this species to this website, please do so by using the image upload form below. Credits are given to the authors.
|
|
|
|
Submit further info on this species |
Use this form to submit more information on this species or report mistakes in this webpage. If information supplied is taken from a book, journal or website, please provide the corresponding reference or website address. Your email address is only for internal communication. Please report only Maltese locations for plants that indicated as rare or very rare (refer to the Nomenclature section). Please do report mistakes, broken links, technical errors, silly typing / grammar errors, misidentifications or taxonomical updates; this will help to improve the website's accuracy. Thanks you! Fill any of the three sections (A/B/C) below and kindly submit the form. * = required fields.
|
|
|
| |