Fringed Amaranth (Amaranthus fimbriatus)

(Fig. 01)

Picture Notes: I found a lot of these Fringed Amaranth (Figs. 1 & 2) on a recent hike through the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area, located off Nipton Road just west of Searchlight, Nevada. Click here for more information on this location … Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area.

Description: Amaranthus fimbriatus, commonly called Fringed Amaranth, is an annual herb. This weedy plant grows in sandy, gravelly, and disturbed areas. The flowers of this plant are usually light or pale green in mid-summer to early fall, yet turn to a brownish, pinkish red late in the season.  They are both scattered in the leaf axils and densely clustered on long, thin, leafy, often curving terminal flower spikes. The flowers are disk-shaped and have 5 broad, clawed tepals with fringed or toothed edges. The leaves are green, simple, alternate, linear to narrowly lanceolate in shape, and up to 4 3/4 inches long. The slender stems are upright, often reddish in color and can be up to 40 inches in height.

This weed blooms after the summer monsoon rains begin and grows best in sandy, gravelly, and disturbed areas. Though most commonly found growing among Creosote Bush Scrub, Sagebrush Scrub, and Joshua Tree Woodlands in partial shade on wash banks or in canyons. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico, though they can also be found from California to Texas, between 1,900 and 5,600 feet.

(Fig. 02)