''Alternanthera pungens'' is a creeping, prostrate perennial

pioneer plant Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...

of the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it ...

, spreading by seed and vegetatively, with roots often developing at the nodes of spreading stems. A plant of roadsides, path verges and waste places (

ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, et ...

), it is thought to have come from Central and South America, and to have become widely established in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. Other species of this genus, e.g. ''Alternanthera sessilis'' (L.) R.Br. ex DC., have long been recorded from

Tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropi ...

, and would be difficult to prove as invaders. The species forms dense mats of stems and leaves during the rainy season. During the dry season or in drought, material above ground dies off and the dormant plant is sustained by its fleshy taproot. Clusters of small white flowers form in the leaf axils. The small, khaki-coloured, prickly, papery fruits are stemless, form in the leaf axils and are spread by stock, vehicles and in stock feed. The shiny seeds are brownish, compressed, lenticular and about 1.5 mm across. The species was illustrated as far back as 1732 by

Johann Jacob Dillenius Johann Jacob Dillen Dillenius (1684 – 2 April 1747) was a German botanist. He is known for his ''Hortus Elthamensis'' ("Eltham Garden") on the rare plants around Eltham, London, and for his ''Historia muscorum'' ("History of Mosses"), a natur ...

in hi
''Hortus Elthamensis'', vol. 1
and described as ''"Achyracantha repens foliis Bliti pallidi"'', and again in 1836 by

Jean-Christophe Heyland Jean-Christophe Heyland aka Jean-Christophe Kumpfler (1791 Frankfurt – 29 August 1866 Genoa), was a Swiss engraver, watercolourist, and illustrator, who produced the plates for many botanical works such as the 1825-27 ''Plantes Rares du Jardin d ...

(1792-1866) i
''Histoire naturelle des Iles Canaries''
vol. 2(3): p. 193, t. 199 (1836). Kew currently lists 139 species in the genus ''

Alternanthera ''Alternanthera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a widespread genus with most species occurring in the tropical Americas,Sánchez-Del Pino, I., et al. (2012)Molecular phylogenetics of ''Alternanthera'' (Gomphren ...

''.

Synonyms

*''Alternanthera achyrantha'' R.Br. ex Sweet

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15480389 pungens