Ontario Weeds: Tumble pigweed

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Stems and Roots
6. Flowers and Fruit
7. Habitat
8. Similar Species
9. 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.

Photos and Pictures

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.

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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

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