Amaranthus albus
(tumbleweed)

Amaranthaceae

 

Description:
Plants more or less globose; stems erect to ascending, 2-15 dm tall. Leaf blades elliptic to spatulate or oblanceolate, 1-6 cm long, 0.5-3 cm wide. Flowers in axillary clusters; bracts subulate, 2-4 times longer than sepals. Sepals 3, subulate, 1-1.5 mm long. Fruit 1.5-2 mm long, dehiscent; seeds 0.8-1 mm wide, reddish brown. Flowers May-Oct.

Distribution:
Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Anacapa, and Santa Catalina islands; North America, Europe, and Asia; native of tropical America.
 

Santa Cruz Island

Occasional; disturbed areas, gravel floodplains, and margins of seasonal ponds; grassland, riparian communities; 40-800 ft (12-245 m).

1995(1)
North side in seasonal ponds near Campo del Norte and China Harbor; Central Valley.  First collected at Pelican Bay in June 1930.

 

(1) Provided by "A Flora of Santa Cruz Island" Steve Junak et al. Copyright Santa Barbara Botanic Garden & California Native Plant Society 1995.

 

Plant descriptions from "A Flora of Santa Cruz Island" Steve Junak et al. Copyright Santa Barbara Botanic Garden & California Native Plant Society 1995.  Used with permission.  Do not use or reproduce without permission.

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Last modified: 12/20/2007