Ontario Weeds: Tumble pigweed
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Excerpt from Publication 505, Ontario Weeds,
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Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Related Links
Name: Tumble pigweed, Amaranthus
albus L.,
Other Names: amarante blanche, Amaranth,
Tumbling amaranth, Tumbleweed, Tumbling pigweed, White pigweed,
herbe roulante
Family: Amaranth Family (Amaranthaceae)
General Description: Annual, reproducing
only by seed.
Tumble pigweed (A - bushy-branched plant; B - tips of branches
with short, axillary spikes of flowers).
Tumble pigweed. A. Portion of erect branhc. B. Short axillary
branch with several clusters of flowers.
Stems & Roots: Very much like Prostrate
pigweed but its main branches more or less erect, up to 1m (3¼ft)
high, bushy-branched, yellowish-green to whitish in colour. Young
leaves up to 8cm (3¼in.) long, the blade rounded or paddle-shaped
Flowers & Fruit: Flowers very similar
to those of Prostrate pigweed, but the bracts around the sepals firmer,
sharper, and longer (about 6mm, ¼in.), being about twice as
long as the flowers, these borne in small clusters on short branches
in the axils of leaves as with Prostrate pigweed; seed round, flattened,
less than 1mm (1/25in.) in diameter. Flowers from July to August.
Habitat: Tumble pigweed occurs throughout
Ontario, being more common in the southern portion in cultivated fields,
wasteland, roadsides and gardens, usually on coarse or sandy soils.
Similar Species: It is distinguished
from Prostrate pigweed by its erect, whitish stems, smaller seeds,
and its spiny-tipped long-bracted flower clusters; and from Red-root,
Smooth and Green pigweed by its smaller leaves, its flowers in small
clusters in axils of leaves along the branches, and the absence of
large, terminal inflorescences.
Related Links
... on general Weed
topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
For more information:
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E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca