''Amaranthus albus'' is an annual species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

. It is native to the tropical Americas but a widespread

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

in other places, including

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and Australia.Flora of China, 白苋 bai xian ''Amaranthus albus'' Linnaeus
/ref> Common names include common tumbleweed, tumble pigweed, tumbleweed, prostrate pigweed, pigweed amaranth, white amaranth, and white pigweed. ''Amaranthus albus'' is an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

herb up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall, forming many branches. Larger specimens turn into

tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumbl ...

s when they die and dry out. The plant creates small, greenish flowers in clumps in the axils of the leaves. Male and female flowers are mixed together in the same clump. In Cambodia, the leaves of the plant (which is known as ''phti sâ'',

Khmer language Khmer (; , ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Khmer people, and the official and national language of Cambodia. Khmer has been influenced considerably by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious registers, throug ...

), is used as pig-feed, and are sometimes cooked and eaten by people.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
* albus Edible plants Flora of South America Plants described in 1759 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Tumbleweeds {{Amaranthaceae-stub