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Amaranthus (pigweeds)
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants)
> Core Eudicots
> Order: Caryophyllales > Family:
Amaranthaceae > Subfamily: Amaranthoideae
About 60 species, found worldwide mainly in
warmer regions. There are about 15 species in southern Africa, some of them
introduced weeds. Species of Amaranthus are cultivated and the
leaves cooked like spinach ('morogo').
Species indigenous to southern Africa
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Amaranthus blitoides
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Amaranthus capensis |
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Amaranthus caudatus |
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Amaranthus deflexus |
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Amaranthus dinteri |
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Amaranthus dubius |
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Amaranthus graecizans |
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Amaranthus hybridus |
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Amaranthus muricatus |
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Amaranthus praetermissus |
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Amaranthus retroflexus |
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Amaranthus schinzianus |
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Amaranthus spinosus |
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Amaranthus standleyanus |
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Amaranthus thunbergii |
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Amaranthus viridis |
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Amaranthus become poisonous if grown on nutrient
rich soils (e.g. on compost heaps and in heavily fertilised soil) because under
these conditions they accumulate dangerous levels of oxalates.
Publications
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Adamson, R.S. 1936. Notes on the species of Amaranthus
in the Western Cape Province. Journal of South African Botany 2:
191-195.
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Brenan, J.P.M. 1981. The genus Amaranthus
in southern Africa. Journal of South African Botany 47, 3: 451-492.
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