amaranthaceae
TRANSCRIPT
• Habit -Usually herbs or suffrutescent shrubs,
sometimes succulent; usually with concentric rings of vascular bundles
General General Characteristics: Characteristics:
Amaranth Family ( Greek “unfading”, from the persistent bracts and perianth)
consists of annual or perennial, hermaphroditic, dioecious, monoecious, or polygamous herbs, vines, shrubs, or rarely trees.
Stems are sometimes jointed or succulent
leaves are simple, spiral or opposite, exstipulate, succulent, alternate or reduced in some taxa
infloresence is of solitary flowers or a spike, panicle, cyme, or thryse, with bracts and bracteoles bristle-like and pigmented in some taxa
Showing alternate leaves
Pleuropetalum darwinii
flowers are small, bisexual or unisexual, usually actinomorphic, hypogynous or rarely epihypogynous
perianth is uniseriate (usually termed a calyx)
stamens have generally the same number as the sepals and antisepalous, distinct or basally connate and forming a tube
Blutaparon vermicumelare
Inflorescence
Inflorescence
Branch
Branch
Flower
Androecium
Gynoecium
Blutaparon vermiculare
inflorescence
Top two flowers in two levels and uncinate bracts
Open flower
Cyathula prostata
Cyathula achyranthoides
top with flowers in one layer only and uncinate bracteoles
Open flower
inflorescence
Cyathula prostata
Cyathula achyranthoides
anthers are longitudinal in dehiscence, dithecal or monothecal
gynoecium is unicarpellous or syncarpous, with a superior, rarely half-interior ovary and one locule
style(s) are one to several
Iresine sp.
placentation is basal
ovules are campylotropous or amphitropous, bitegmic
nectaries are present in some, typically in annular disc
fruit is a nutlet, berry, irregularly dehiscing capsule, or rarely a circumscissile capsule or multiple fruit
seeds are mostly starchy-perispermous with curved embryo
Kingdom: PlantaePhylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Species of Amaranthaceae belong to 163 plant genera.
7,717 scientific plant names of species rank for the family Amaranthaceae. Of these 1,825 are accepted species names.
The status of the 9,607 names (including infraspecific names) for the family Amaranthaceae recorded, are as follows:
SPECIES NAMES ALL NAMES
Status Total % Total %
Accepted 1825 23.6% 2003 20.8%
Synonym 3320 43% 4975 51.8%
unplaced 320 4.10% 322 3.4%
unassessed 2252 29.20% 2307 23.7%
Celosia argenteaAerva javanica
Achyranthes, Achyropsis, Acnida, Aerva, Allmania, Alternanthera, Amaranthus, Arthraerua, Blutaparon, Bosea, Brayulinea, Calicorema, Celosia, Centema, Centemopsis, Centrostachys, Chamissoa, Charpentiera, Chionothrix, Cyathula, Dasysphaera, Dasysphaera, Deeringia, Digera, Eriostylos, Froelichia, Gomphrena, Gossypianthus, Guilleminea, Hebanthe, Hemichroa (~ Chenopodiaceae), Henonia, Herbstia, Hermbstaedtia, Indobanalia, Irenella, Iresine, Kyphocarpa, Lagrezia, Leucosphaera , Lithophila, Lopriorea, Marcelliopsis, Mechowia, Nelsia, Neocentema, Nothosaerva, Nototrichium, Nyssanthes, Pandiaka, Pfaffia, Philoxerus, Pleuropetalum, Pleuropterantha, Polyrhabda, Pseudogomphrena, Pseudoplantago, Pseudosericocoma, Psilotrichopsis, Psilotrichum, Ptilotus, Pupalia, Quaternella, Rosifax, Saltia, Sericocoma, Sericocomopsis, Sericorema, Sericostachys, Siamosia, Stilbanthus, Tidestromia, Trichuriella, Volkensinia, Woehleria, Xerosiphon.
Atriplex- 250 species
Atriplex canescens Atriplex elegans
Gomphrena serrata Gomphrena globosa
Salsola oppositifolia Salsola tragus
Alternanthera caracasana Alternanthera philoxeroides
Chenopodium capitatum Chenopodium polyspermum
Ptilotus obovatus Ptilotus exaltatus
Suaeda maritima Suaeda esteroa
Iresine herbstii
Amaranthus caudatus Amaranthus tricolor
Corispermum leptopterum
Celosia spicata Celosia cristata
Almost all flowers of most species of Amaranthaceae produce nectar and are insect-pollinated, except for Genus Amaranthus with about 50 species, whose flowers are wind pollinated and do not make nectar.
largely distributed worldwide, members common in some deserts, estuarine or alkaline regions, tropical areas and some temperate regions.
The major threats to Amaranthaceae are habitat degradation and destruction by cattle and feral goats, competition with alien plant species, and a risk of extinction from naturally occurring events like landslides and hurricanes.
Achyranthes atollensis(Hawaii Chaff Flower) Status: Extinct
Avhyranthes mutica(Blunt Chaff Flower) Status: Critically Endangered Pop. trend: stable
Achyranthes splendens(Round-leaved Chaff Flower) Status: Vulnerable Pop. trend: decreasing
Achyranthes splendens
Also known as Maui Chaff Flower
Achyranthes talbotii Status: Vulnerable Pop. trend: decreasing
Aerva microphyllaStatus: Least Concern Pop. trend: unknown
Aerva revolutaStatus: Least Concern Pop. trend: unknown
Aerva revoluta
Alternanthera areschougiiStatus: Vulnerable
Alternanthera corymbiformis Status: Vulnerable
Alternanthera filifolia Status: Lower Risk/least concern
Alternanthera flavicomaStatus: Vulnerable
Alternanthera galapagensisStatus: Vulnerable
Alternanthera grandisStatus: Vulnerable
Alternanthera filifolia
Alternanthera helleriStatus: Vulnerable
Alternanthera nesiotes Status: Endangered
Alternanthera snodgrassiiStatus: Vulnerable
Amaranthus anderssoniStatus: Data Deficient
Amaranthus brownii (Brown's Pigweed) Status: Critically Endangered
Pop. trend: unknown
Brown's Pigweed
Amaranthus furcatusStatus: Data Deficient
Amaranthus sclerantoidesStatus: Lower Risk/least concern
Blutaparon rigidumStatus: Extinct
Cyathula fernando-poensis Status: Vulnerable
Froelichia junceaStatus: Vulnerable
Froelichia nudicaulis Status: Vulnerable
Irenella chrysotricha Status: Endangered Froelichia juncea
Iresine pedicellataStatus: Vulnerable
Lithophila radicataStatus: Lower Risk/near threatened
Lithophila subscaposa Status: Vulnerable
Pleuropetalum darwiniiStatus: Vulnerable
Psilotrichum aphyllumStatus: Endangered
Psilotrichum axilliflorumStatus: Vulnerable
Alternanthera tenella, joy weed
Amaranthus spinosus, spiny amaranth.
Celosia argentea, cockscomb.
Charpentiera tomentosa, papala.
The leaves and/ or roots of a few species, such as Beta vulgaris (beet, Swiss chard), Chenopodium spp. ( lamb’s quarters, goosefoot), and Amaranthus spp. (pigweed) are eaten.
Beta vulgaris( Beet, Swiss chard)
Spinaceae oleracea( spinach )
Chenopodium sp.
Amaranthus spp.
The seeds of several South American species of Chenopodium and Amaranthus are used to make flour.
The family includes a few ornamentals, including Celosia (cockscomb), Gomphrena (globe Amaranth), and Iresine (bloodleaf).
Celosia sp. (cockscomb) Gomphrena sp. (Globe amaranth)
Ex Situ :
Amaranthaceae has been successfully
propagated at the National Tropical Botanic
Gardens where, in 1997, more than hundreds of
seeds were in storage and about plants were in
cultivation.
In situ A fence constructed by one landowner proved
successful in protecting one plant from grazing cattle in an a certain area. The construction of additional exclosures is recommended to reduce the impact from domestic cattle and feral goats. Removal of cattle to locations away from the preferred habitat of the Amaranthaceae is recommended, as are various methods of feral goat/cattle removal.