''Amaranthus albus'' is an annual species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

native to the Americas. Its

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s include common tumbleweed, tumble pigweed, tumbleweed, prostrate pigweed, pigweed amaranth, white amaranth and white pigweed.

Description

''Amaranthus albus'' is an annual herb growing up to 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 A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

of the leaves. Male and female flowers are mixed together in the same clump.Flora of China, 白苋 bai xian ''Amaranthus albus'' Linnaeus
/ref>

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the tropical Americas, but is 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, Africa, and Australia.

Uses

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, the leaves of the plant (which is known as ''phti sâ'' in the

Khmer language Khmer ( ; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken natively by the Khmer people. This language is an official language and national language of Cambodia. The language is also widely spoken by Khmer people i ...

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

References

External links

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