Leaf
Mathieu MENAND, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Redroot amaranth
Amaranthus retroflexus L.
Also known as: Common amaranth, Redroot pigweed
Family: Amaranthaceae
30 to 100 cm
Crops, wasteland, rubble, rich soils
Flowering: July – October
Full sun
Not very hardy, to -10°C only
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Dense flower spikes, rough to the touch, often held upright like a green feather duster.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate, slightly waffled, long-stalked
🌸 Flowers
Tiny, greenish, in dense, rough spikes at the top
🍎 Fruits
Tiny glossy black seed
🪵 Bark
Herbaceous annual with an upright, often branched stem.
🗺️ Distribution
Native to North America, widely naturalised in Europe; very common in France in crops and on waste ground
🐝 Value for pollinators
Pollination mainly by wind, limited interest, but the seeds are appreciated by seed-eating birds
✂️ Horticultural uses
Regarded as a weed of crops, with no ornamental use
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Can accumulate excess nitrates, occasionally toxic to livestock if eaten in massive amounts; harmless to humans on simple contact
🌿 Other Amaranthaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.
© Floraneo — profile content is protected; reproduction without permission is prohibited. Photos remain under their own licence (see the credit shown on each photo).