Amaranthus crassipes, Schltdl.

Iamonico, Duilio & El Mokni, Ridha, 2022, First record of Amaranthus crassipes subsp. warnockii (I. M. Johnst.) N. BaYÓn (Amaranthaceae) outside of the Americas, with nomenclatural notes, Bothalia (a 2) 53 (1), pp. 1-7 : 3-4

Amaranthus crassipes

Amaranthus crassipes Schltdl. in Linnaea 6: 757–758 (1831) subsp. crassipes = Euxolus crassipes (Schltdl.) Hieron. in Bol Acad. Nac. Sci. 4: 13 (1881) = Scleropus amaranthoides Schrad. in Index Sem. Hort. Acad. Gottingen.: 5 (1835), nom. superfl. et illeg. (Arts. 52.1 and 52.2 of the ICN) = Scleropus crassipes (Schltdl.) Moq. in Prodr. [DC.] 13(2): 271 (1849). Type: U.S.A., Virgin Islands: ‘in locis paludosis ad rivolus ins. [insulae] St. Thomas, 1826–1828’, Ehrenberg s.n. (HAL076208, lecto.!, designated by Henrickson 1999: 787 as ‘holotype’, here corrected according to Art. 9.10 of the ICN). Image of the lectotype available at http://141.48.4.202/ djatoka / jacq-viewer / viewer. html? rft _ id=hal_0076208&identifiers=hal_0076208.

– Scleropus amaranthoides Schrad. ex Moq. in Prodr. [DC.] 13(2): 271 (1849), nom. inval. pro syn. of Scleropus crassipes (Art. 36.1a of the ICN).

Description

Herbs 100–400(–500) mm tall, monoecious, annual (therophyte). Stems erect, ascending or decumbent, glabrous, green or reddish, branched. Leaves green, orbicular or ovate,10–50 × 10–15 mm, glabrous,margins usually entire, apex obtuse to slightly emarginate with apical mucro, base cuneate, petiolate, with veins more or less prominent on the abaxial surface. Synflorescences arranged in axillary glomerules 4–10-flowered, 4–10 mm in diameter, with axes much thickened becoming indurate at fruiting stage. Floral bracts 1, ovate-deltoid, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5−1.0 mm, about half the length of the perianth, membranaceous with median vein light green, apex acute-mucronate, margin entire, glabrous. Staminate flowers with 5 tepals, equal to each other, lanceolate, 1.0–1.5 × 0.5–1.0 mm, with median vein visible, apex acute; stamens 3(5). Pistillate flowers with usually 5 tepals, lanceolate (1.2–2.0 × 0.2–0.4 mm), connate in the proximal 1 / 5, spatulate with the distal part expanded, hyaline distally; stigmas 2(3), 0.7–0.8 mm long. Fruit indehiscent, subglobose to ellipsoidal, 1.4–2.0 × 1.2– 1.7 mm, shorter than the perianth, verrucose at maturity in the distal part. Seeds ovoid to lenticular, 0.9–1.4 mm in diameter, dark brownish to reddish (often reddish at the margins), shiny.

Iconography

Bayón (2015: 320, Fig. 28).

Vernacular names

Clubfoot amaranth, spreading amaranth, tropical spreading amaranth ( Mosyakin & Robertson 2003).

Distribution

Native to Colombia, the Caribbean ( Aruba, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Island, Netherland Antilles, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, Winward Island), North México, southern U.S.A. (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas), and Venezuela; alien to South México, Perù and Trinidad & Tobago (see POWO 2022 and literature therein). Outside of the Americas, the taxon is recorded in Europe in Great Britain ( Clement & Foster 1994), and in Asia in Japan ( Randall 2017) and Pakistan ( Jamshed et al. 2018); there is also a doubtful record for southern Italy, but it was never confirmed (see Iamonico 2015a). Concerning Pakistan, Jamshed et al. (2018) did not specify the subspecies but, on the basis of the picture given ( Jamshed et al. 2018: 3, Fig. 2 ), the leaves are clearly ovate and green, and the plant is identifiable as the subsp. crassipes .

Taxonomic notes

On the basis of the classification proposed by Mosyakin and Robertson (1996), Amaranthus crassipes sensu lato is a species belonging to the subgen. Albersia (Kunth) Gren. & Godr. sect. Pentamorion (G.Beck) Mosyakin & K.R.Robertson , which would include taxa with indehiscent fruits and five tepals. A. crassipes sensu lato can be easily distinguished from all the other members of the sect. Pentamorion by its peculiar axes of the synflorescences, which appear much thickened and becoming indurate at fruiting stage. The more similar Amaranthus species is A. scleropoides Schrad. , which was included by Mosyakin and Robertson (1996) in the sect. Pyxidium Moq. (this section comprises taxa of subgen. Albersia with dehiscent fruit). In fact, the main difference between A. crassipes sensu lato and A. scleropoides refers to the fruit, which is, respectively, indehiscent with surface verrucose in the distal part, and dehiscent with surface smooth or verrucose in the proximal part (see Bayón 2015: 319, 357).

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Representative specimens examined

ANTIGUA. North Sound: weed in fallow, 6 Apr. 1937, Box 573 (NY1373779) . BAHAMAS. Little Exuma: Mr Bowe’s farmland on south edge of William town , 23 Apr. 1975, Correll & Correll 44848 (NY01373732) . BARBADOS. Christ Church: Chaucery Lane, 30 Jul. 1906, Dash 360 (US01884380) . COLOMBIA. La Guajira: Uribia , en los bordes y cauce del arroyo en la salida hacia Maicao, 29 Mar. 1962, Saravia et Johson 324 (US03541795) . CUBA. La Habana: Cojimar , 24 Aug. 1910, Britton 154 (NY1036594) . DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Valverde: El Maguenal, Jaibon , Mao, alt. 100 m, 2 Feb. 1974, Liogier 21195 (NY1373790) . GUADALUPE. Anse-Bertrand: alt. 10 m, 7 Nov.1937, Stehlé 2515 (P05002553) . HAITI. Dep. du Sud: Trémé , 30 Jun. 1980, Peeters 80/60 (P04944386); Plaine d’Aquin, début route 44 vers Flamand, en zone paturée, 6 Jul. 1980, Sastre et Polynice 7341 (P04944385) . Massif de la Selle: 2 km al este de Petionville, alt. 200– 240 m, 14 Jun. 1985, Zanoni et al. 35236 (NY1373768) . JAMAICA. Grounds of St. Benedict’s School east of Harbour View , open waste ground, alt. 25–50 ft. [7.6–15.3 m], 13 Aug. 1963, Proctor 23937 (NY1373776) . PUERTO RICO. Montalva: roadside, 2–4 Mar. 1915, Britton et al. 4876 (US00707046); Island of Celebra: waste places, 3–12 Mar. 1906, Britton 154 (NY1036594) . TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS. South Caicos: 14–16 Dec. 1907, Wilson 7643 (NY1373730) . VENEZUELA. Lara: Savanas around Barquisimeto , May 1925, Saer 206 (US 0354180) . U.S.A. Arizona: Pima County, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, José Juan Tank ( Represo ), and artificial dirt charco on San Cristobal Wash , 1.2 km W of the western boundary of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument , 14 Sept. 1992, Felger 92-713 (US03540276); Florida: 1842–1849, Rugel 31 (US03540289) . VIRGIN ISLANDS. St. Thomas Island: shore of harbour, 8–9 Feb. 1913, Britton et al. 475 (US00707047) . SAINT CROIX. West Indies Lab Compound , open bare rocky soil, alt. 5 m, 11 Jan. 1972, Fosberg 53930 (NY1373756) .

Figures

Figure 2. Distribution of Amaranthus crassipes subsp. warnockii in Tunisia.